All About Home and Garden

There are literally thousands of different tomato types out there and anyone who is new to the hobby of tomato gardening is sure to be confused as to what all of these classifications mean, and more importantly, which variety of tomato should they be planting? Fortunately, only a basic knowledge of the way tomatoes are classified is required to make an educated decision on a particular species that is right for you.

Determinate vs. Indeterminate

The first basic way tomato types are broken down is by the manner in which the plant grows. Determinate tomato plants are those that grow only to a specific height, and no higher. They are also known as bush tomato plants due to their appearance. Determinate tomato plants produce their crop of fruit during a short period of time, and then cease to produce any more tomatoes for the rest of the season. A good characteristic of these plants is that since they don't continue to grow to taller heights, they don't need to be supported by staking or caging. You can also get by skipping the pruning ritual too. Overall, the determinate tomato plant requires less maintenance by the gardener.

The indeterminate tomato plant, on the other hand, will continue to grow wildly and need to be supported by stakes or cages. One of the things many people prefer about the indeterminate is that it produces tomatoes all-season long. When you pick ripened tomatoes from this plant, you can be sure that it will continue to give you nice, delicious tomatoes throughout the rest of the growing season. These plants also commonly require more care and should be regularly pruned.

Heirloom vs. Hybrid

The next breakdown in tomato types is heirloom and hybrid. Everyone has surely heard of heirloom tomatoes, but most people don't know what it really means. To put it simply, it is a tomato variety that has been grown continually for 50 or more years, and has not been cross-pollinated or mixed with any other tomato species. The seeds are saved from the tomatoes and planted season after season to preserve the tomato's desirable properties. They are known to be the tastiest tomatoes around, and every tomato gardener longs to have a garden full of delicious heirlooms. Unfortunately, heirloom tomatoes are more susceptible to problems, such as fungal diseases and insect infestations. They usually don't produce as bountiful of a crop as hybrids do either.

That brings us to the alternative to the heirloom, which is known as a hybrid tomato. These tomatoes have been "engineered" to contain many of the best qualities of several different species of tomato by cross-breeding them together. They have been bred this way to be more disease resistant, less vulnerable to pests such as nematodes, and to produce a more reliable crop of the fruit. Hybrids were first designed by commercial growers, and are most likely to be the type you buy in the grocery store. I don't' have to tell you what you already know, store-bought tomatoes don't taste near as good as a home-grown heirloom. That's the negative of hybrids, but there are quite a few that have been developed that are quite flavorful, and you can try planting several to see which ones you like the best.

There are lots of factors that may influence which tomato types you ultimately decide to plant. Things to consider are your experience in gardening, how much time you have to tend to your tomatoes, and your priorities in the fruit that is grown. Some people want tomatoes all summer long for sandwiches and salads, and some like to jar all of their tomatoes for sauces and winter consumption. You should consider these and many other priorities when deciding on a type of tomato, but nobody says you can't plant 4 or 5 different types and enjoy them all!

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Buying plants from grower or nurseries is an easy way to start or enhance your garden. But, you don't want to buy problems. Taking a few minutes when you are picking out your plants, can save you lots of time and money. Buying unhealthy plants can either be a waste of money because they don't survive the transplanting, or they can bring insects and disease to your garden and cause you more time and expense to treat these on all your plants. Take a few minutes and look at these 7 areas to make sure you are getting healthy plants for your garden.

1. Leaves - This is the first and easiest area to look at to tell how healthy your plant is. Look for well formed leaves, a compact bushy growth is best. Yellowing leaves can be signs of pests, disease, or nutrient deficiency. Wilted leaves could be a temporary condition, possibly stressed by lack of water, but it could also be from regular neglect from nursery staff.

2. Color - A healthy plant should have consistent color across all the leaves. Look for the proper color for the plant. Not all plants leaves are green all year round. Do some research ahead of time and compare with other plants of the same variety at the nursery. Yellow or discolored leaves can be signs of pests, root problems, fungal infections and others. Avoid plants that don't have fresh properly colored leaves.

3. Stems and Branches - Check for scars or nicks in branches or stems. This can show damaged plants that could be future sites of disease or weakness. For bushy plants, you want to see lots of short stems and lots of leaves. Plants with spindly growth are indications of poor light conditions, poor pruning, or it has outgrown its pot.

4. Roots - A healthy plant should have a good set of roots, but not too many for the current pot. Don't be afraid to look at this before buying the plant, most reputable nurseries will be glad to help you with this if you are not sure how to check. Roots should always be firm, well formed and hold the soil together. There should be a good balance of roots to soil. Too much soil and little roots, means recently repotted. Very little soil and mostly roots means the plant has outgrown its container. Either case will put increased stress on plant when it is transplanted.

5. Soil - The soil for a healthy plant should be moist. Poke your finger into the soil about 1 inch and check below the surface. If the soil is too dry or too wet, you may already have root damage. As mentioned in the roots section, you need to make sure of a good balance of roots to soil. Avoid plants that are either 25% or less soil as this is a sign of too many roots and 75% or more soil as this is a sign of too few roots.

6. Pests and diseases - Look for signs of pests or disease like chewed leaves, sticky residues, webs, or leaf distortion, spots and mushy leaves. These are all signs of stressed plants that will not transplant well, but they can also bring these bugs or diseases back to your garden.

7. Buds or Flowers - Ideally, you want to buy your plants before they start to flower. Plants expend a lot of energy to create the flowers, so transplanting them during this time will create additional stress on the plant. The best time to buy these plants is just before they start to bud, or with a few buds.

With these tips, you should be able to find strong healthy plants that will quickly adapt and be a welcome addition to your garden. If there is any doubt put it back and keep looking. This advice will save you money and time and allow you to enjoy your garden for years to come.

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Your work is not done once you have planted your vegetables. Now you must deal with the many different vegetable diseases and problems. There is no shortage of problems that Mother Nature can bring that can affect the health of your plants. Some gardeners get so frustrated they resort to herbicides and pesticides.

Before you follow suit and start using poisons on your vegetables remember that you plan to eat your harvest. Please take into account the many safer forms of combating pests and weeds instead of harmful chemicals. Another thing to consider is that the "pest" that you are about to kill may actually be a beneficial bug that can help you maintain your garden.

Watch for the tell-tale signs your plants use to alert you a problem exists in the garden.

Yellowing or Dropping Leaves

A good indicator that your plants are not getting enough water is yellowing leaves or leaves dropping of the stems. Controlling humidity outdoors can prove difficult. In addition to an adequate supply of water try misting the leaves ever-so-often. Improper air circulation and a large drop in temperature can cause leaf loss also. Both of these can cause your vegetables not to flower which translates to no harvest. To ensure that your plants have good air circulation be sure you remember to plan for their full grown size when planting. To protect from dips in temperature add a 34" layer of mulch between the rows. The mulch will keep the soil warm and prevent root shock.

Brown Leaf Edges

If you find that the leaf edges are browning and dry your vegetables are too hot. One cause is the sun. Try making shade for your plants until the cooler weather comes. Another cause is over fertilizing, check that you are using the correct measurements for your garden. Your water might be causing the browning edges. Check the chemical composition, if you have too much salt or chlorine you will have to let your water set for 24 hours before putting it on your plants. One last thing to check, when the other causes are not the problem, is pH. If the pH in your soil is not proper for your vegetables you will have to amend your soil to return your plants to health.

Yellowing Bottom Leaves

Tomatoes have this happen when they are watered too much. It is a sign of root damage. Other vegetables will show this when they are not getting enough sunlight. A good rule of thumb for most vegetables is six hours of partial to full sunlight every day for a good harvest.

When it comes to vegetable diseases, problems, and pests there are many that can show up. Local wildlife can munch on the tender shoots; fungus problems can affect leaves, and dozens more. This article cannot possibly address every issue you may face. However, if you start with a well planned and prepared garden spot you will have fewer problems. Remember to properly till and amend the soil, provide good irrigation and drainage, keep plant families separate and clean and weed your garden frequently. Proper attention to these practices will save you a lot of problems later.

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When it comes to gherkins you either love them or hate them, you either like the taste of them or you do not, there is no middle ground. Many people dislike the taste when they are younger but then grow to like them when they are older.

In the shops you only tend to be able to buy pickled gherkins and not fresh ones.

So if you want fresh gherkins to eat or to pickle yourself then you will most likely have to grow them yourself.

They are actually part of the cucumber family, and whilst they taste far different they are basically mini-cucumbers and so not unsurprisingly they are grown in the same way as cucumbers.

This means that you do not have to live in an exotic climate to grow them. If you can grow cucumbers where you live then you can grow gherkins as well.

You may well have to buy the seeds online as they are hard to come by even in large gardening shops.

Planting your gherkins - they like a sunny position and will grow their best in full sunlight, although they will still do okay if slightly in the shade.

You will need to start them off indoors, ideally in a propagator and then prick them out into 3 or 4 inch pots when they have four leaves on them.

Like cucumbers they are sensitive to over watering and this can kill them faster than under watering them can.

As they grow larger they can be planted out in the garden, but only after all risk of frost has gone.

The gherkins should be planted out in to soil that has had well rotted manure dug in to it.

You will need to support them with canes as they grow taller, lightly tying the plants on with string. Do this as soon as possible as they are sensitive plants and do not like being battered by the wind.

Harvesting your gherkins

When the fruits appear they will grow thick and fast, so for best results then pick them when they are no more than 4 inches long.

They can be eaten straight away or pickled for using over the year. To pickle the gherkins simply use a large glass jar and normal pickling vinegar. Once pickled they will last for years although personally I would only pickle as many gherkins as I would use in the next year.

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You may be asking yourself the question: "Why do I need an eco-friendly garden?"

By maintaining an eco-friendly garden, you'll be contributing in a very real way to improving the environment and reducing the damage caused by modern living. Simple changes on a small level can result in marked differences to the health of the planet, slowing down 'The Greenhouse Effect' and improving the environment for future generations.

An eco-friendly garden employs a few simple solutions to make a real impact on our individual carbon footprint. Here are 5 relatively simple home solutions you can put in place right now.

1. Create a compost heap

Recycled garden and kitchen waste is the perfect recipe for creating your own compost heap! Simply start a pile in a sunny or semi-shaded area of your garden. Over the course of the year, nature will have created the ingredients for some rich compost ready to use as fertilizer across your garden or allotment. This is a great way to save money and help the environment.

Furthermore, it will provide great satisfaction knowing you're taking part in the natural recycling process of your garden!

2. Install solar lighting

It's not as expensive as you think to use solar light to power your garden technology. Of course the first use for solar power that springs to mind is using it for lighting. As the sun goes down, what could be prettier than looking around the garden and seeing soft lighting across your landscape, provided for free and without damage to the environment?

Solar lights are simple and cheap and they have enough power to illuminate trees, plants, rocks or pathways.

3. Use organic, environmentally friendly pest control

There are many ways of dealing with pests in the garden without resorting to dangerous chemicals. The main culprit of woe to gardeners are slugs. However, there are many ways of dealing with slugs without the risks associated with using slug pellets.

Slug pellets are very harmful to other wildlife, birds and cats.

We recommend trying a simple solution using beer. That's right - the beer you drink! For some reason, slugs love it as much as we do. Dig a shallow hole, sink a pot of beer into it and hey presto - the slugs are attracted to it and dive right in.

Another simple solution is to encourage other wildlife with a pond and some frogs - frogs love a good slug meal! We also recommend using plants that attract help from insects such as ladybirds, as well as trees that attract birds, both of which will help see the pests off.

4. Use water wisely

This tip can be summed up in 2 simple words: 'water butt'.

Investing a small amount of money in a water butt is an easy, hassle-free way to save water and benefit the environment. A water butt is simply a large barrel-like container that collects rain water via a nearby drainpipe, which you can then use to water your garden and replenish ponds.

Simply use the tap on the side of the butt to fill your watering cans and share it across the garden. A simple yet effective way to avoid excessive use of tap water for your plants across the summer, not to mention perfect for those hosepipe bans too!

5. Grow your own vegetables

We are told constantly that we must eat our '5 a day' of fruit and vegetables. This isn't difficult in itself, but it can soon become expensive to buy volumes of fruit and veg which can so easily be grown at home.

You don't need a big garden with lots of land to grow your own. You can buy simple growbags or hanging baskets for your wall. Fruit and vegetables that you grow your own taste much better and have no nasty pesticides or fertilizers added that harm you and the environment.

Furthermore, you can rest assured that the nutritious food you're providing for your family hasn't travelled half way around the world, further damaging the environment.

With a small investment, a little careful planning and a minimum of effort, you could easily begin putting the above 5 simple tips into action today. Consider making some small changes in how you use your garden and be confident you're making a significant impact on the health of the environment.

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Shade can be the bane of gardener's lives. Several years ago I moved from a garden that received full sun (and I could hardly find any shade in summer) to one that was shady. It was very frustrating as I had to adjust to the fact that I could not grow my favourite summer annuals. But I began to realise I could grow other things beside impatiens. I brought 6 inch pots (14cm) or tubes 3 inch (7cm) because they were cheaper and they recover from transplant shock quicker. I brought a Cheiranthus sp. (Wallflower), a new mini cultivar Abutilon (Chinese lantern), of a course Daphne odora plus lots of Helleborus sp.

There are a couple of basic rules for successful gardening in the shade. The first is chose plants that suit the position. It is no good putting full-sun plants in shady positions because they need light to provide them with energy to grow. They will struggle and cause lots of disappointment. The second is to remember that the summer sun is higher in the sky than in winter. That means in summer a garden bed might be in full sun and in winter receive none. So you need plants that can tolerate these huge variations. In the front garden I had roses and in winter they only receive mid day sun. Deciduous plants suit this situation perfectly.

Understanding the type of shade you have in your garden is the trick to your success. There are different types of shade for example there is deep shade often down the side of the house or under trees, light shade and dappled shade. If you are struggling with deep shade and nothing will grow, accept defeat gracefully and mulch. Light shade is where there is some illumination and plants with low light requirements will grow there. Dapple shade is where the light filters through the canopy and receives some sunlight during the day. If you are creating a bed under trees, be aware that some trees such as gum tree secrete allopathic chemicals to limit competition. You also need to be careful of building up the soil level around the trunk as you could inadvertently kill the tree. You should be able to see the flare of the trunk at the base. This is a sign that the ground level hasn't been altered. By raising the soil level around the base, you are not only encouraging the collar rot (a fungal disease) you are starving the surface roots of oxygen. This could cause the tree to die. Lemon trees take about 5 years to die.

Finding plants for shady spots is difficult so that is why I dug out some of my favourites and took cuttings of others. I dug out a couple of shade loving salvia's and a delphinium which I moved rather hastily to my new house. A word of warning when you move into a new place theoretically you should observe the garden for at least a year before you do any major alterations. But I didn't have time, so I quickly worked out the east and west sun, plonk them in and hoped for the best. Well the Salvia miniata and S. forskaohlei were absolutely fine. S. miniata has the most beautiful glossy leaves with the most brilliant bright red flowers, great for adding colour in a dark area and S. forskaohlei has the most wonderful mauve with white dots on the throat and a bonus it will self seed. The Delphinium requienii also survived and is an absolute boomer in the shade sending up lovely purple flowers and lots of seed.

Shady areas can be dull and another trick is to put variegated foliage plants such as Aucuba japonica 'Variegata' at strategic points. The lime green leaves will brighten up a dark corner and when the sun shines on them will dazzle you for a moment.

Finally, here are some not so common plants (but obtainable) that will tolerate shade: Nicotiana 'Prelude Mix', Tornia 'Blue', Hosta sp., Streptocarpus saxorum, Sarcococca ruscifolia, Mahonia sp. Euphoribia sp., Fuchsia sp., Mackaya bella, Murraya paniculate and Eupatorium megalophyllum. Clivia miniata will survive superbly in dry shade. Except for the clivia you will need to visit your local nursery and ask them to order the above plants in for you.

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Has the selection of "organic" foods at your local grocery store expanded as it has in so many others? Organic foods are no longer just for the fringe environmental nuts. No longer confined to health stores, organic foods have become a staple at most grocery stores. So what about the fruits and vegetables you grow in your home garden?

Don't let the idea of going organic put thoughts of "too much effort" into your head. It is a lot easier than many people think it is and there are effective ways of handling fertilizing and pest control organically. And, you want to remember that the whole idea is to provide you and your family with safer, healthier fruits and vegetables.

Organic gardens differ from regular gardens in that the plants are fertilized and pests are controlled in the garden without the use of synthetic or excessive use of chemicals. Organic gardeners use only natural products and materials and avoid fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides that could be harmful to the environment and their families.

Any successful garden takes a lot of work and organic gardening is no different.

First of all, giving your organic garden a proper start also means an early start. Organic fertilizers take longer to work, so start prepping your soil at least 3 weeks ahead of time. Make sure you remove any organic materials that have not decomposed over the winter, as well as weeds and such. Fertilizers usually involves composting, which is easier to do than people usually envision. You can also use animal manure, like chicken droppings.

Your organic fertilizer or compost will remove the hardness of the soil and improve its overall condition. Properly prepared soil will be able to hold both water and nutrients much better after fertilizing it. In addition, organic fertilizer buffers the soil so it is more stable to extremes of acidity or alkalinity. Another benefit of using compost or organic fertilizer is the slow and continual release of nutrients as the fertilizer decomposes throughout the growing season.

Nitrogen is an important and necessary nutrient for growth in gardens-even conventional ones. Compost piles help organic gardens by improving the usable nitrogen component of the soil through a process called "nitrification".

Animal manures make for the best type of fertilizer for the average organic garden. It needs to have been aged for at least 30 days to make the nitrogen more bio-available. The manure varies depending on the type of the animal, the way the animal was fed and even the condition of the animal. After letting the soil rest with the animal manure, you're ready to plant and grow the healthiest garden possible.

So, you've gotten in a little exercise, properly prepared the soil so your organic garden will have a great start and can now take a break while your soil "matures".

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When it comes to kids and Halloween you simply must have a pumpkin, yet in recent years the price of pumpkins has skyrocketed with them selling for ?5 for a small pumpkin and ?10 for a large one.

Also demand for them in recent years has jumped up massively with them being in more demand, and many people now buying one for each of their children to carve.

Indeed Halloween is not Halloween without a pumpkin.

So why not save yourself some money and grow some pumpkins for the kids instead? Not only do you save money but also growing them is fun and educational for the kids, and you can also be sure that they are 100% organic.

Growing them is very easy as they have a high germination rate, I know this for a fact as I grow them each year. The majority of seeds will germinate so be prepared to give the plants away or sell them.

A word of warning though is that pumpkin plants will grow big due to the very nature of the crop they will produce, so ensure you plant them in an area away from other smaller plants to avoid overwhelming them.

They can be started off inside in 3 inch pots of compost, ensure the compost is kept reasonably wet and place the in a warm Sunny place and they should start to germinate in around 7 to 10 days.

When they are around 3 inches high and all risk of frost has passed then they can be planted out. They should be put into small heaped mounds of soil with well rotted compost already dug into it. Scatter liberally with slug pellets to keep them away from the young plants.

All you will then need to do is regularly water them, as they are low maintenance as plants go. As the pumpkin grows then the only other thing to do is to make sure that you remove any leaves covering the fruit in order for them to get the most Sunshine.

Harvesting your pumpkins - You will know when they are ready to pick not just by their size, but when the stem begins to crack. This is the key indicator that they are ready to pick. Then simply use a sharp knife to cut the pumpkin stalk, never pull it off.

So as you can see pumpkins are easy to grow so give them a go today.

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One of my favorite bushes are hydrangeas. They come in so many varieties and are reliable, often constant bloomers. They tolerate full sun to full shade.

Lemon Daddy Hydrangeas are a perfect shade shrub for your garden. What is great about them is even when they are not blooming, the color "pops" due to the hard-to- miss lemon color or chartreuse (yellow green) foliage. This is perfect when your shade garden could use some brightening up. The more sunlight the leaves get - the more lemony the color, the more shade - the more chartreuse.

Last year I ended up moving some Lemon Daddy's I had planted two years ago because they got too much shade and never bloomed. I transplanted them all to partially shady spots: one near my front door for a vibrant welcome, one near my kitchen window where I can see it, and one in the back yard near my peonies (vestiges of my sunny garden).

I actually like them so much, I bought three more as replacements for potentillas (that needed a sunnier location). The bright lemon color pops from behind the boxwood and is visible to passers by from the street.

I had been watching the potentilla we planted one and a half years ago die a slow death. There simply wasn't enough sun even though there was strong mid-day sun. But don't kid yourself - a full sun location is 6 hours plus - preferably from mid-day to late afternoon. The sun-loving potentilla just didn't work in this location. In fact I had gone through several bushes in that location with the previous residents being PJM Rhododedrons - those winter hardy, shade loving, beautiful purple flowering bushes in spring. However, they died as well.

I was thinking that there had to be something wrong and after having a soil test done, I discovered that my soil was alkaline probably due to leftover stucco construction materials in the soil around my house. Despite amending the soil with acid when we planted the rhododendrons, I obviously didn't add enough acid either when they were planted or on an ongoing basis. Rhododendrons, and their close cousins azaleas, are acid loving shade shrubs.

Given that there is only so much time I want to put into garden maintenance, I decided it was not worth the constant maintenance the rhododendrons would required to keep them going. Luckily hydrangeas are very tolerant of soil pH thriving in a broad range of conditions.

When planting your new Lemon Daddys, follow standard planting instructions. You should be sure to scratch the root ball to break up the roots (a dandelion digger or cultivator will work fine for this. This prevents the roots from continuing to grow in a tight circle and encourages them to grow freely in the soil for a healthier plant. You should dig a hole two times bigger than the root ball and when planted the root ball should be level with the ground.

Since hydrangeas like to be hydrated, be sure to amend the soil with compost or peat moss to maintain even soil moisture. Then look forward to seeing your new Lemon Daddy Hydrangeas thrive!

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Combine intensive planted garden beds, with rows, and drip tape irrigation. With a design that reflects the most productive yields, with the least amount of labor involved, the least expensive components, and the best use of your space and resources.

Use Any Space You Have Available to grow your own vegetables. To grow what you need for fresh use throughout the growing season, and grow more for food storage, up to five times the amount that you get from a conventional row system.

There are many approaches to intensive and raised bed gardening. Most designs are very labor intensive. Use a system designed to make the labor less intensive.

Depending on the size of your project. You can spend a few hours a week, one day a week, or more working your garden. In many urban areas just the water bill alone can be a major expense. By combining intensive gardening with rows, automatic drip irrigation and beds, water use can be reduced considerably, and your labor will also be reduced.

By using walkways the soil compaction will be eliminated from the growing the area, and cultivation minimized. Overhead watering will cause water loss from evaporation, can cause diseases to develop, and cause insect infestations. Save money, Eat healthy, Get exercise, and enjoy growing many more times the quantity of vegetables that can be produced in a conventional garden with less physical labor.

Healthy plants tend to be disease and insect resistant if you provide the correct conditions. Avoid using pesticides that will kill beneficial insects like ladybugs, bees, wasps and praying mantis. Provide organic matter for rich fertile soil.

Avoid using chemical fertilizers. You can create the conditions needed for healthy plants. To get a jump on the season you can buy transplants from a nursery or start your own from seed.

Rotating crops will make the best use of fertilizers; prevent disease and insect infestations, build your soil so that your garden beds will continue to produce year after year, without decreasing in quality or quantity.

If you have many things to do, have jobs, and families to support. You do not have a lot of time to waste. If a garden is to time-consuming, your labor spent on gardening, can be worth more than what the garden will produce. Use a system that will make your time spent worthwhile. You can build and maintain your own compost, or if you do not have the time, you can pickup ready-made compost.

Use a system designed to be compatible with a front tine tiller, which will save time versus hand digging, and a flatbed system that will not require labor intensive, and expensive sides to be built around the beds. Combine row cropping within the beds, so you can make use of a labor-saving garden seeder, and by covering the walkways you eliminate weeds from growing, and the mud from the walkways.

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Liquid lawn fertilisers are a wonderful addition to the group of nutrients we have at our disposal to care for our lawns. These are the lawn fertilizers which are often based on seaweed, manures and other organic compounds, as opposed to the standard lawn fertilizers which are most often chemically derived.

Organic Fertilizers Are A Responsible Choice

Being naturally derived, these organic liquid fertilizers are not only gentle and beneficial to our lawns and pose almost no possible detrimental consequences to our sod, but also have the added benefit of never causing any type of damage to the environment.

Benefits Versus Downsides

The major benefit of these products is also the major downside to liquid organic fertilizers, which is their mildness. They are often very low in the vital major elements which lawns need to flourish at their optimum health. And of these major elements, Nitrogen is most important and most often only available in small amounts in organic products.

As Nitrogen is so vitally important for lawn health, we must take this factor into consideration whenever choosing or considering liquid organic fertilizers for use in our lawn care.

Organic Fertilizers - Finding The Right Balance

This consideration leaves us with one very important factor to bear in mind, which is that we should always use liquid organic fertilizers in conjunction with standard lawn fertiliszers for maximum benefit to our lawns health.

Specifically, this means shopping for organic fertilizer products which are high in Nitorgen, and then balancing out this organic fertilizing with standard chemical lawn fertilizers.

For a high Nitrogen organic lawn food, we can perhaps follow a 50/50 year round mix of both organic and chemical products. However, for lower Nitrogen based products, the liquid organic fertilizers should only account for around 25% of total year round fertilizer usage.

Instant Benefit of Liquid Organic Ferilizers

Because they are a liquid, liquid fertilisers will be immediately absorbed into the lawn within a very short space of time, giving the lawn an instant lift within a few days.

However, unlike regular fertilizers, a liquid organic fertilizer will not remain in the soil for very long, and will therefore require more frequent applications than other lawn fertilizer types.

Finding The Perfect Mix of Lawn Fertilizers

While there is still no magical solution to become totally organic with our lawn care just yet, new lawn care products are continuously improving and being released, and hopefully soon we can all switch to a totally organic lawn care regimen.

But until that day comes and these new product arrive, liquid organic fertilizers are a wonderful choice in our lawn care, but must always be used in conjunction with, and to complement our regular lawn fertilizer products.

Steve Garrett is a long term and highly respected lawn care professional based in Perth, Australia. These days Steve shares independent lawn care information with all homeowners on his website The Lawn Guide. Including lawn care tips and turf reviews, including reviewing the highly popular Sir Walter St Augustine grass type, as well as reviewing all other popular lawn varieties.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Steven_Garrett_

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Something all gardeners know is that at some point, they will face bugs! Of course, the initial reaction is to run out and buy various commercial insecticides. The trouble with using conventional chemical pesticides is that it undermines the benefits of raising home-grown vegetables.

A healthier solution, though the outcomes are not as easily appreciated, would be the reduction and prevention of such a bug invasion to start with. Companion plantings are an old, yet effective approach to pest control and help with better vegetables, as well.

An example of a companion planting is growing tomatoes along side carrots. Carrots can attract insects that feed on other insects that would otherwise go after your tomatoes. But, for the beneficial insect-attracting properties of carrots to work, you have to leave them to flower.

Sage, rosemary, and radishes are suggested by some people as companion plants, yet listed by other people as incompatible. Allium inter-planted with carrots confuse onion and carrot flies. Marigolds will deter beetles and nematodes. Mints (such as hyssop, sage, and various "balms") repel slugs, the nemesis of lettuce and cabbages.

Or, you could fight bugs with bugs! Two bug fighters that an organic gardener can easily introduce to their organic vegetable garden are lady bugs and praying mantis. The simplest way is to just buy and release them directly into your garden. You could do more research and find plants and flowers you can plant to attract and keep them in your vegetable garden area.

And, finally, you can use organic and natural sprays that you can use as well, ranging from homemade mixtures of simple soap and water to an age-old solution that is gaining in acceptance, Neem oil.

Neem oil has been used in India as a pesticide, a miticide, and also fungicide for thousands of years. What is also interesting with regards to Neem oil is that it has also been used for its medicinal qualities as well!

Neem oil does not work the same way as commercial pesticides and does not "eradicate" garden bugs in the usual way. Insects absorb the Neem oil compounds just like natural hormones. Neem enters their system and blocks the real hormones from functioning properly.

Bugs "forget" to eat, to mate, or they quit laying eggs. Some even forget that they can fly. If they do manage to lay eggs, the eggs would not hatch or the larvae don't moult. Needless to say, insects that are too confused to eat or breed will not survive. The population eventually plummets and they disappear because the entire life-cycle has been broken.

The neat thing is, Neem oil does not hurt beneficial insects. Only chewing and sucking bugs are affected. It really is fascinating.

However, this is not something that happens right away. People spray Neem oil as an insecticide and expect everything will die immediately, since that is what they are used to from chemical poisons. When that does not happen many people conclude Neem insecticide does not do the trick!

It will deliver the results! But, it takes longer to work than commercial pesticides do. But, it's a much smarter way to deal with insect pests than to simply kill everything... good bugs and bad.

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Organic gardening is far more than just not using sprays and chemicals on our foods. The journey really begins with creating a soil mix that is rich in nutrients by using simple every day things like banana skins, which are rich in calcium, silica, sodium, sulphur, magnesium and phospates.Organic gardening is about creating the ideal environment for helpful critters to thrive. Organic gardeners love worms and frogs! It's about allowing some critters you might not really want around, to remain, so that the helpful ones are attracted to your gardens in pursuit of their supper. Ladybugs, for instance, will come if we have some of the bugs they like to eat: aphids, scale insects, mealy bugs, leaf-hoppers, white-fly (my personal nemesis!) and mites. Just remember their spiky larvae aren't pests themselves, but babies who you *want* to have in your garden.

Organic gardening is about knowing which plants thrive if they are planted together and which ones would rather you didn't bother. Tomatoes love to be with asparagus, basil and carrots but aren't keen on living near rosemary and potatoes. Potatoes, in turn, grow well if they're planted near peas, beans, sweetcorn or cabbage. While cabbage doesn't like being near strawberries and tomatoes.

The great thing is, when we get the mix of plants and environment absolutely right (the way Mother Nature intended it to be), we end up with more wholesome food than we could ever need. Even if you've got three continuously hungry sons, like I have, there will still be some organic food which you simply cannot manage to eat. Imagine that: not only your children eating free whole-foods that you've grown, the kind of organic foods most of us can't afford to by - now you've grown excess! That's where the real magic begins. Not only have you saved money on your fresh-food bill, but you have extra food. So, why not barter with it, or sell the surplus? If you got really enthusiastic you could make preserves and sell them. What a great money-making idea! Most towns and cities have weekend markets where regular folk can hire a stand cheaply or you could even set-up an old-fashioned stall at the gate.

In the end, learning to garden organically seems to be a simple answer to helping the environment, improving our health and increasing the amount of cash in our wallet. Making money and eating free organic whole-foods. How could anyone complain about that?

If you want to hook up with someone who knows far more than I do about growing organic food for the market you can check out my website here: http://www.kloppenmum.com/

Karyn Van Der Zwet
Karyn is an ex-teacher and Mum to three boys - and she's on a mission to help parents raise the healthiest, most mature and self-assured children they can.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Karyn_Van_Der_Zwet

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One of the biggest problems with conventional agriculture is the excessive tillage that occurs. Tilling is a method farmers use to fluff up their soil by chopping it up with spinning blades on the back of a tractor (typically). The problems that arise with this is that the excessive tillage often leads to soil depletion after a few decades. All that fluffy soil is eventually blown away by the wind, leading to an unsustainable level of erosion. When the soil erodes too much, there's no top soil left to grow in. This is an issue, as an inch of top soil can take thousands of years to develop, and a significantly shorter period to blow away.

Cutting back on tilling in your own backyard garden is a great way to ensure that your vegetables come from a more sustainable operation, and also that you have healthy, vigorous vegetables growing in the garden. You won't have to add as much compost or fertilizers, as your garden will maintain its healthy tilth as a result of not being till quite as often.

Firstly, though, don't hesitate to do a deep till when you initially put in your garden. It's not necessarily a bad thing to get your garden going quicker, and tilling will help with this. After this, though, try to minimize your tilling as much as possible.

You can do this by adding a whole bunch of compost to your garden bed right off the bat. If your soil is sandy, it will help retain water. If you have clayey soil, it will help drain the soil. Either way, it will make the soil structure more suitable for no-till cultivation, as it will be easier to work by hand.

Once you have your garden beds established and ready to go, you can start planting them with whatever you like. Vegetables, fruits, cover crops, or anything else. Typically, between plantings, you might do a quick till between harvest and planting to kill any weeds and aerate the soil. If your soil is healthy enough, you can simply use a hoe to take out the weeds and vegetable residues, and go ahead and plant your next succession of food. Make sure you use a very sharp hoe to cut through the soil, and fluff it up slightly (this will result in almost no soil loss due to wind erosion - much less intrusive).

The other advantage to no-till gardening is that you will grow better vegetables. By not obliterating all the life in the soil with a huge metal machine, most of the worms, bugs, and bacterial life will survive a thorough hoeing by hand, and they'll increase the biodiversity in the soil.

Try no-till gardening and enjoy better food right from your own backyard. Not only will it taste better - but your garden will last longer.

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The fountain of youth has fascinated the minds of people around the world since the beginning of time. Getting to live forever is such a dream for some. For others in the world of plants, it can actually happen. It is said that we humans can actually learn a thing or two from the plant life on our planet. What if the answer is finally here?

Orchids are considered one of the oldest living species of plants in the world. They have been around since the time of dinosaurs and can virtually be found anywhere on earth. In fact they are considered one of the most successful plant groups in the world. And the secret to this success has been found!

It is widely known that many orchid types heavily rely on pollinators to spread their species. Their flowers' unique designs have a very specific use and that is to attract pollinators. But what most of us don't know is that their relationship with these pollinators is one of their biggest secrets to success. The precision of where the flower sticks its pollen to its pollinator actually holds the key to its longevity.

Orchids can essentially share the same pollinators (read: the same exact bee) to deliver their pollen to their same genus. What basically happens is that orchids actually choose where to stick their pollen on the body of a bee. Two orchids of different genera can use one bee for pollination and not get their pollen mixed up with each other. One can stick it on the bee's stomach and the other can stick it to its legs. This ingenuity ensures that even if there are only a few pollinators, orchids can still successfully mate.

Another secret kept by orchids to ensure that their species stand the test of time is through guarding their personal unique nutrient-supplying fungus. They have their own fungi completely unique from other flowering plants (even their co-orchids) to ensure that only they can utilize its nutrient-supplying capabilities.

The sad part to keep in mind is due to the decrease in the population of insects that help orchid propagation in the wild - like the bees, wasps and butterflies, there is a huge possibility that these ancient plants will also become extinct. Learning these secrets to their success can hopefully make us more aware and be able to help them eliminate the threat of extinction.

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Polyvinyl chloride is a cheap and good material for the construction of pipes, greenhouse shades and sewerage lines etc. Polyvinyl chloride is a chemically resistant material. So chemicals can't damage the polyvinyl chloride material easily. The uses of polyvinyl chloride have been increasing. Most of organizations have been using this material for the construction purposes like pipe lines, shades, different types of pipe frames etc. The other main feature of PVC greenhouse plans is that it is very light in weight. It is easy to build anything like PVC greenhouse from PVC as compared to other construction materials.

You can build your own greenhouse from polyvinyl chloride material within an hour or two hours. It is not a very difficult task. Actually the material by which greenhouse should be made must be transparent for the sun rays. Glass, plastics walls or tubes and polyvinyl chloride are the best materials which can act as transparent material for the sun rays. Polyvinyl chloride is easy to handle and dismantling of structure which is made by the polyvinyl chloride is also very easy. Many types of bends, connectors, elbows and T-junction which are used for the construction purposes can also be made from PVC. There is no need of any type of welding.

PVC Greenhouse plans require a large space for its construction. So where ever you have a space in home, build your own greenhouse shade. Everyone knows about the purpose of greenhouse. These are used for the proper vegetation and planting and they protect the plants from any unfavorable circumstances which may cause due to disturbance in the weather. Now the next step is that which design is best for greenhouse. There are number of designs which are uploaded on the different websites and you can easily find the design according to your desire. All types of designs do not cover a lot of space either they are simple or complex. The more you give your time for the construction of greenhouse more it will be well finished and of appropriate design.

Two things which are very important for the efficiency of greenhouse are that it must be transparent and translucent for the light. So that it allow the light to pass through it. We need PVC pipes, plastic sheets and T-junction for the completion of PVC greenhouse plans. Lumber is used to build entering door. Proper irrigation and electric system is required for the proper functioning and working of greenhouse.

At the end of the article, I would like to suggest to you that PVC greenhouse plans are economical and better choice for the people.

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In a previous article I touched on the subject of what to grow, some good combinations, identified some plant types, and covered some planting dates. I will now get into more detail on these subjects, layout some beds with different combinations, and plan them through the growing season. When we get to the planting. You should have a good idea what you want to do with the space that you have available.

To plan a bed I will make a template that can be used every time, with different combinations, and different planting dates. In the winter I sit down and make a plan for the garden, determine what I am going to grow, how much, and when to plant each bed to get the results that I want.

Example of Planting Plan Template for 4' Beds

BED NUMBER

SR 1 Lettuce Thin to 12" apart and use thins.
SR 2 Spinach Thin to 3" apart and use thins.
MR 1 Spinach Thin to 3" apart and use thins.
SR 3 Bush Peas No thinning necessary.
SR 4 Bush Peas No thinning necessary.
CR Spinach Transplant Tomatoes May 1, 2' apart
SR 5 Bush Peas No thinning necessary.
SR 6 Bush Peas No thinning necessary.
MR 2 Spinach Thin to 3" apart and use thins.
SR 7 Spinach Thin to 3" apart and use thins.
SR 8 Green Onions Thin to 3" apart and use thins.

Example of Planting Plan Template for 2' beds

BED NUMBER

SR 1 Tall Peas No thinning necessary.
SR 2 Tall Peas No thinning necessary.
CR Spinach Transplant Tomatoes May 1, 2' apart
SR 3 Spinach Thin to 3" apart and use thins.
SR 4 Garlic sets No thinning necessary.

If you use drip irrigation you may not get good seed germination in the main and center rows when using four soaker lines per 4' bed.

However, in the early spring this does not present a problem, there is rain or snow and stays cool. If it is unusually warm here in the spring I will hand water with a hose until the seeds germinate. In some gardens I have had a combination of sprinkler and drip irrigation.

At those locations I wanted to keep planting some hard to germinate seeds into the summer months. Crops like carrots. The best time to grow carrots here is when you plant around June 1. The sprinklers help to get fall crops started also. Crops like lettuce, spinach, cauliflower, broccoli etc.

Some crops that require a cool season will grow well in the fall, but they need to be planted in the heat of summer, here in Utah that would be in August. The sprinklers were set up so they could be adjusted to work with small areas, by changing the heads to quarter, half or full, and were only used when needed.

Once the plants were established, I would stop using the sprinklers, and turn on the drip irrigation. I no longer have enough space for that, all of my beds are planted in the spring, and the beds are still producing at the time fall crops would need to be planted.

In desert areas that I have gardened, there was not any snow, and very little rain. When starting the garden in the late fall it was still hot and dry. I needed the overhead watering in those locations to get the plants started, but there is another option for that situation, by adding four more soaker lines per bed.

Then there will be a soaker hose along every soaker row, the lines would need to be placed right on top of the seed rows, so that the seeds would get direct water, instead of the water being dripped 3" away from the plant row, like in the system that I use with four lines per 4' bed.

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Are you prepared to grow your own food? Preparedness seeds are also known as non-hybrid, open-pollinated, heirloom, non-gmo and survival seeds, and are a great addition to your survival gear. Some type of emergency garden or survival garden should be a part of your urban survival supplies in preparedness for a disaster. Preparedness seeds can also be used in your everyday garden too.

Heirloom seeds may be saved at harvest time and used to replant in next year's garden. Survival seeds may also be stored for long periods (years), making them a valuable item for your own emergency garden or for barter/trade. The seeds should be dried to their optimum moisture content to lengthen their storage life. Storage conditions and packaging affect the viability of the seeds. By keeping seeds cold, you can greatly extend their life expectancy. More details for seed collection and seed saving should be researched for each individual plant.

Compare this to the modern hybrid seeds, which cannot be harvested and planted from year to year. If you try to save hybrid seeds and replant, they will not look the same as the original plant. In this way, the seed companies keep you dependent on them to buy seed every single year. Not so with preparedness seeds. With the non-hybrid survival seed varieties you make an initial investment/purchase, and as long as you save seed at harvest every year, you will be able to produce delicious fresh food for you family indefinitely.

There are many different garden types out there, which range from container gardens, raised bed gardens, traditional garden beds to farming. It really varies. This depends on available land, climate and soil conditions and how much time you have to grow your own food. Just start small and expand as you gain more experience. I live in the city and have enjoyed using container gardening. Container gardens are suitable for getting maximum production out of small spaces, and are a great part of your urban survival supplies. When choosing a location for your garden, find a place that has full sun and is well drained. If your soil is dense clay, just add compost and gradually improve the mixture for better conditions.

An emergency garden, survival garden or your everyday garden should have a variety of fruits, vegetables, herbs and grains for a healthy diet. Non-hybrid varieties include vegetable garden preparedness seeds, fruit preparedness seeds, salsa preparedness seeds, culinary herb preparedness seeds, medicinal herbs preparedness seeds and ancient grains preparedness seeds. Proper nutrition is greatly improved with more food groups, and saves money for your grocery and health care expenses. It also helps your sense of well-being to have more choices of foods to eat. You could get pretty tired of rice and beans, if that is all you have for chow.

Survival seeds are suitable for rural gardens, city gardens, urban survival supplies and everyday gardens. Non-hybrid, open-pollinated, heirloom, non-gmo survival seeds are a step towards self-reliant living for your survival gear.

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We are all starting to think more and more about the effects our actions have on the planet, and the legacy we are leaving for our children. We hear about this 'carbon footprint' expression and recalling it reminds us to turn the power off on our TV before we go to bed at night and make sure we only use as much water in the kettle as we're really going to need. We think about our travel, and whether we could cycle to work instead of drive, or take a bus. How many of us really think about what we eat and the effects that may have?

For most of us, the thoughts we give to the food we choose in the supermarket is probably based firstly on price and bargain, and then healthiness and fat content. Very few take the time to look a little more closely at the label to check where the food might come from. Our fruit and vegetables in particular are shipped in front all the corners of the globe and some fruit make very long distance journeys before they arrive on the supermarket shelf.

On these long journeys that some fruit and vegetables go through, the carbon footprint and impact on the environment does not just stop at the energy used in the aircraft or freight. There are other factors that are also important if the fruit and vegetables are to get to the supermarket shelf fresh enough. Considerations have to be made to keep the fruit and vegetables fresh enough to sit on the supermarket shelf for a few days and then possibly in your kitchen for a few days more. So the speed from which the fruit is picked and cropped, to the time it is on that shelf ready to buy, coupled with the manner in which it's transported are vital considerations. These considerations include keeping the fruit and vegetables transported in coolers, all of which require energy to regulate, and at speed which requires still more energy.

So something that we might not think about very often, even as responsible people who care about their environment and try to do their bit, can have a still have a huge impact. So what can we do?

Polytunnels are the answer! You might see them in the landscape as you drive into the depths of the countryside on your bank holiday break, and there are mixed opinions about them. Some people hate them and think they are an eyesore, others understand the benefits they have for the fruit and vegetable farmer and like them.

A polytunnel extends the growing season for fruit farmers from May to mid-Autumn where it used to be limited to just the months of June and July. This means that British Berries can dominate in a market that used to be dependent on imports from other countries all over the world. It also keeps wastage down and labour costs more manageable, meaning that British produce can compete against once cheaper imports.

So next time you go to buy your fruit and vegetables, think about where they've come from and where possible buy British. While you're in that check-out line, think to yourself that you can thank the polytunnel for the fruit your buying and the reduced impact you're now having on the environment.

You could even reduce your impact further by growing your own fruit and vegetables in your own garden polytunnel. Choose a garden greenhouse polytunnel that is made to field scale professional standards, from a reputable growing company.

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Measure your space and put a stake in each corner. Run your nylon string from stake to stake. Now you have the area that will need to be prepared inside of the strings.

When you are using a shovel to turn the soil, start on one side and push the shovel in the ground about 1'. Lift the soil and turn it over in the same spot and break it up with the shovel. Continue this until all of the soil is turned over inside the staked area. When the area has grass and you are starting your project in the summer or fall, this process will need to be repeated after a few weeks, or again in the spring to finish breaking down the sod.

When you are starting your project in the spring, turn the sod over, chop or slice the soil off of the back with your shovel, and move the remaining sod to a pile or spread it out somewhere upside down so it can dry out. You should do this even if you intend to use a tiller. When you are starting your project in the summer or fall and will be using a tiller you can till the sod under. First till one direction north to south. Then till the other direction east to west.

Continue tilling again each week for as long as you can work the soil, then till again in early spring. Overlap your tilled rows. Till two rows side by side, then till back down the center of the two rows to be sure that the soil is tilled well. Continue tilling weekly until your beds are planted to prevent weed seeds from germinating. If the weeds get a jump-start on your crops it will cause you problems. This will save you labor spent weeding later in the season.

When you are working with a small space and growing the crops intensively. Some vegetables will utilize the space better than others. Potatoes and corn for instance. In row cropping they are spaced 3' apart. In a 4' bed you can put three rows of potatoes or corn, which will give you three rows in 6' of space counting the walkway. In conventional rows it would take 9' of space for three rows.

You will want to plant them as soon as possible after the frost-free date. There may not be enough time before they are planted to use the space for an early crop unless you plant a fast crop like spinach, turnips or radishes. Vegetables usually grow slower in the cool months of spring and will take a little longer to mature. When your seed packet tells you 45 days to maturity it may actually take 60 days.

In this case you would be planting the potatoes or corn a few weeks after the frost-free date providing that you planted the early crops soon enough. Depending on when your frost-free date is you might not have enough time left for the potatoes or corn to mature. In my location I can do that. I do not because I can plant enough of the fast-growing crops in bed combinations that will have peppers, tomatoes and squash planted later. Depending on how much space you have, you may want to leave out some plant types, so that your beds can be more productive.

Potato plants grow fast and take over the entire bed quickly, this makes it difficult to plant any seeds in the same bed that could grow to maturity before the potato vines will choke them out, except spinach, radishes or turnips. Then you could harvest eight more rows from that bed.

Corn can be combined with beans. This combination will get you an additional six rows of green beans in that 4' bed. Bush beans work the best. You will have to harvest them from under the corn and some rows in the center will be difficult to harvest. This combination works well for dried beans by harvesting the beans after the corn stocks die. You can get more green beans for food storage that way if you can't devote enough space elsewhere.

Pole beans work with corn also but they tie everything together and make it difficult to get to the center of the bed. Pole beans and tall peas are best planted on a fence line in a 2' bed. Some types of winter squashes or pumpkins planted in the center row of a corn bed will work well. Pumpkins do well for me but some winter squashes need a longer growing season and will only work well with corn in a hotter climate.

In desert areas cantaloupe and watermelon can be mixed with corn. As the vines start to encroach on the walkways they can be trained back into the beds. The corn stocks will die and you will have beans or pumpkins etc. growing in that space for the rest of the season.

The best use of the bed space will be combination planting of early, mid, and long-season plants. The plants will need to be categorized into groups, according to how far they need to be spaced apart, how long they will take to mature, and how tall they will grow.

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Farmers world-wide have been practicing crop rotation for centuries. The reason for this is that they discovered long, long ago that by growing certain crops in a certain sequence, they were able to optimize the precious resources of the soil.

If one crop is grown season after season, year after year, without a break, the soil will tend to deteriorate in both structure and the content of nutrients. But if crop rotation is practised correctly, each subsequent crop will add nutrients to the soil that were used up by the previous crop. Crop rotation also minimises the risk of nematodes and disease.

The simplest rule of thumb is to grow an above-ground crop and then a below-ground crop. Better still rotate the four crop groups that benefit most from crop rotation. These are:

? cruciferous crops including cabbages, cauliflower, broccoli, Brussels sprouts and kale,

? root crops including beetroot, carrots, parsnips, salsify and turnips (remember that potatoes are NOT a root crop, they are a legume),

? solanaceous crops including both tomatoes and potatoes, peppers and eggplants, capsicums and chillies,

? leguminous crops that include all the beans and peas you can think of.

Cucurbitaceous crops - cucumbers, pumpkins, squashes and marrows, and various melons - and various other miscellaneous crops - from Swiss chard and spinach to leeks, celery, lettuce, endive and artichokes - can generally be included anywhere, unless of course they make a bad companion plant to others planted at the same time.

From this you will see that legumes and then the cruciferous crops, including brassicas, should follow-on from your tomato crop.

Legumes are known to trap nitrogen in nodules that form on their roots, adding nitrogen to the soil. But this benefit is only realised if the whole plant goes back into the soil. Harvesting the pods minimises the nutrients, so leave some plants to die and rot.

Leafy vegetables use up loads of nitrogen - which is why you should plant the brassicas after growing beans and peas. But you will still need to feed the soil and add manure and compost for the crop to really thrive. If they do thrive, leafy vegetables will generally enrich the soil with phosphorus, which the root crops thrive on. The root crops then leave behind some extra potassium that our tomatoes love!

Another factor to consider, particularly in terms of solanaceous crops, is that the different types should ideally not be grown within three years of one another. So if you want to grow tomatoes, potatoes, peppers and aubergines, you'll need to plant different areas at different times, rotating the crops differently all the time.

Annette Welsford and Lucia Grimmer are the authors of best selling books How to Grow Juicy Tasty Tomatoes and How to Grow Great Potatoes.

Lucia Grimmer is a world renowned expert in plant disease and nutrition who trains horticulturists, agronomists and professional growers. She has won awards for her technical papers and regularly conducts trials on a range of crops with the objective of improving yield and reducing disease.

Their book on Growing Tomatoes has sold to thousands of novice and professional gardeners in 83 countries, and has been featured on TV, radio and leading gardening publications in 4 continents.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Annette_Welsford

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Rudbeckia, popularly known as the Black-Eyed Susan, is a very colorful plant that comes with deep yellow petals with daisy-like flowers and other features including hairy-like leaves which come with a rough texture. It is truly one of the most common flowers on the planet and no wonder it has numerous species thronging gardens and yards all over the world. Even though different species thrive in different areas, these flowers generally survive well in USDA Hardiness Zones 4 to 9. Different Rudbeckia species come in different sizes so while the maxima species can grow as high as 9 inches, others such as Becky and Toto only reach 1 foot high.

Rudbeckia plants are easy to grow and thrive in well drained fertile soils, even though they are able to survive in average soils as long as it drains well. The main mode of propagation for Rudbeckia is through its seeds and it is important you plant them in an area with direct access to sunlight as it allows it to grow very well and generate blooming flowers when matured. The best time to sow your seeds is at the beginning of the spring season and a great tip is to place some organic fertilizer in the hole before tucking in your Rudbeckia seed as well as some organic mulch around the hole after covering it. You can alternatively purchase young plants from certified growers in your area for transplanting in your garden or yard sometime in the spring.

It will be a great idea to water your plants regularly after planting and if possible, this should be done through its first season if you live in an area where droughts occur regularly. After its debut season, the flowers become highly resistant to long periods of dryness and thrive thereafter even if rainfall is not consistent. It is also important that you resort to only natural fertilizers and if that is impossible then artificial fertilizers should be applied in lower quantities as excessive quantities will resort in feeble plants, especially around its stems.

The flowers of Rudbeckia will start blooming in the summer to sometime in the fall in its first season if you planted it at the beginning of the spring. Otherwise you can only expect to see Rudbeckia flowers in your yard or garden in the summer of its second season.

If you desire to see your plants with attractive and large flowers that bloom for longer periods then you should make sure you deadhead flowers after they begin to wilt. If you need more seeds, you should just allow the last flowers of the Rudbeckia plant to grow until they develop into seeds.

Rudbeckia may develop bacterial infections from mildew during damp climates with high temperatures and this is why you need to plant them in an area where they get direct access to sunlight. You should also ensure proper planting spaces between Rudbeckia plants for proper aeration.

Rudbeckia flowers are very attractive and can therefore be used to improve the aesthetic qualities of the inner parts of a home or office when used as cut flowers.

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The timeless flower of love is a rose - every girl is a sucker for roses whether they admit it or not and I can tell that on good authority. In fact, the rose has been a special flower that has brought people from all walks of life together.

You only have to look at the local florist's store to see how popular roses are! Chances are the most number of flowers in the store will be roses! I kid you not. Just go have a look see and you'll find that I am right! You will find roses of all sizes, colors shapes and even scents. So popular is the rose that you might come across it at the grocery store too!

The popularity of Roses goes back a long time. Did you know that the rose is actually an Ancient Greco-Roman symbol? It was a symbol which represented spring, beauty and of course love. But it also symbolized the transient nature of time.

Symbolism

But the more familiar symbolism of roses is that roses depict mother Mary. The rose - which is seen as the queen of flowers - is actually a symbol for Mother Mary. In fact, red roses represented martyrs too in Latin Christian symbology. The Rose has also come to stand for Christ who is called the Rose of Sharon. You have only to look at pictures of cathedrals and churches to see evidence of this fact.

Roses have a distinctive, sweet scent. For a lot of people, this is a bit too overpowering. But don't worry there are roses with mild scents as well. In fact, there are roses of every type, to suit everyone's taste. Did you know that not all roses come with thorns? Yes, that's right; there is a special variety of the rose plant which is thorn-less!

Antique Roses - My Favorite

Antique roses, in my opinion are the best of the lot. It is basically a European variety of rose which has pink flowers and a sweet scent - in fact; even the leaves of this plant are sweet! I have several antique rose plants at home, but growing them is quite bard, let me tell you and you need to take special care of your plants.

You need to settle on an area which gets several hours of sunlight in the morning. It is also a good idea to give the plant room for a great deal of air movement since the bush grows mighty fast and reaches a good size. The soil you choose to cultivate your plant on should also be of a good quality and your plant will bloom if you have good quality organic material to supplement the growth.

The best time to plant the bush is during the spring season or early summer, before the heat really takes over. It is a good idea to keep the antique in a container for a few months before you plant it outdoors. Have fun with your rose(s) and don't forget to smell them every morning when you wake up for a great start to your day.

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Compost tea sounds like some bizarre concoction, likely to be created by some mad scientist or crazed eccentric gardener. Perhaps you've never ever heard of this compost tea information before, don't worry you are not alone by any stretch of the imagination. The big secret is about to be let out! The truth is that many good gardeners have long ago learned about this tea making and have come to enjoy its strengths and benefits. Brewing this garden compost tea is going to become a lot more common in the not too distant future thanks in part to its impeccable green credentials. Keep reading to find out a little more and discover just how and why you really need to be producing a little tea for your garden to enjoy.

Brewing compost tea is in essence a really simple procedure, but it can often become much more complicated. Some people will go to pretty extreme lengths in order to produce their tea mixtures; however the principles are the same no matter what technique you opt to use. You need an excellent home made rich "base" compost to immerse in water for a period of time. This liquid is strained to remove the bits and pieces and to enable it to be applied by sprayer or watering can. The resulting liquid is of course your tea. The tea liquid will contain a lot of the nutrients from the compost and therefore makes a very handy environmentally friendly fertilizer. The whole process of making this tea may be a lot more complex however in plain and simple terms this is garden compost tea making.

The novice garden enthusiast may perhaps speculate why should you go to all of this hassle and not just make use of any brand of regular garden plant food from the shop or garden center. Just like so many things in life, nature can frequently offer the best solutions and it can be hard to explain why. Compost tea is a totally natural and safe product that is also very beneficial to flowers, plants, grass and even fruit and vegetables. It can be used all around the garden and can really add to the quality of the plants. This tea also contains microbes and bacteria which are believed to assist in keeping plant life healthful. It truly is an excellent natural option and can be used to totally replace your use of chemicals and fertilizers in the garden.

By simply paying attention to several important points, you can get started right away and soon be producing your own compost tea. Nothing is more critical than the rich "base" compost you begin with soaking in order to brew your tea. This base compost will be the source of all the goodness in the final tea mixture so it needs to be top quality good stuff. The compost from composting worms is an excellent base for producing teas but many different kinds of compost will be good, so long as they are unpolluted and well matured.

At the beginning it can be a good idea to make use of one of many basic kits offered by your garden supply shop. This is fantastic if it is your first attempt at making compost tea - it keeps everything really easy and straightforward.

Get yourself in on this great technique and see what the real gardeners have known for a while - tea is great for the plants.... Everyone loves their tea!

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Even non-gardeners seem to know about hostas - the ever-present shade perennial that is found near most homes. But in committing myself to shade gardening earlier this year, I wanted to make a statement with them. I wanted hostas that couldn't be ignored.

So in early May I got myself to a nursery that has the largest selections of plants, shrubs, trees, and garden decor near me and asked "What are the largest hostas you have?" The answer came back 'Empress Wu' and 'Sum and Substance'.

Now 'Empress Wu' is a relatively new variety of hosta that is supposed to become ginormous. 'Empress Wu' is named after the only lady emperor of China. It reaches a height of 3 - 4' and has very large leaves of any hosta (up to 18" long!). I make and sell concrete leaf castings and so this was of keen interest to me besides the fact that I some large shady spaces to fill.

As I picked up a one gallon pot, I have to say it looked very similar in size to any other blue-green hosta, but at three times the price! The spacing on this baby is 4 - 6'. Now talk about a filler plant - this is it! I'm hoping at least... Right now it doesn't seem to have grown from when I first planted it. And it suffered some nibbles from the rabbits that run rampant in my yard.

Maybe it is putting all its energy into growing fabulous roots. I will find out soon, because I will be relocating this prime specimen to where some shrubs have recently been moved. I will also feed 'Empress Wu' with plant growth hormone to stimulate growth when it is in its final spot.

Information I've researched says it may take up to four years to reach its full size. This hosta likes part shade to shade and moist but not soggy conditions - so she definitely will be something to watch grow.

'Sum and Substance' is also an impressively tall shade perennial reaching up to three feet in height and having spacing requirements between five to six feet wide. Where it differs from the Empress, is that the preferred light conditions are part sun to sun. Even its foliage looks sunnier! The chartreuse leaves are large - 9" wide and up to 20" long. Also a prime candidate for making concrete leaf castings!

I learned that the brighter the leaves, the brighter the light requirements. The dark green and blue hostas tend to prefer shade whereas the yellow to chartreuse colored leaves will thrive even in a sunny place.

'Sum and Substance' is replacing a sickly rose that had been giving me indications that the sunlight was waning. It still gets some direct sun, especially in the afternoon, but not enough for a rose. I'm betting it is perfect light conditions for this hosta. Another benefit of this specimen is that it is supposed to be slug resistant. So great expectations for this one as well!

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Finding a flat spot is not always an easy task. If you can't find one then it's recommended you create one. You may need to adjust some landscape by terracing, digging out some bushes, removing trees, rocks, and other debris. Keep in mind that the most work will be required in the beginning, and your extra effort at this stage will be greatly rewarded.

A spot where there is lawn, that can be tilled under will provide organic matter, and fertilizer for your first season. I have gardened in soil that was sandy, rocky, clay, and many combinations. There has not been any spot where I had sun and water that could not be gardened, by building up the soil.

Personally I prefer to have a little lawn in my yard. But I think most yards have too much lawn. We spend a lot of time and energy to keep them up. Spend money on fertilizer, weed control, and other things as well as water, but you can't eat grass. Why not sacrifice a little lawn for something worthwhile? What lawn remains will provide clippings for compost to help feed the vegetables. You can even turn the whole yard into a garden and get the grass clippings from the neighbors since they will likely throw them away anyway.

Beware of spots that have walnut trees, the nuts have fallen in that spot for years, and they are poisonous to most plants. Also spots where oil has soaked into the ground from automobile mechanics or junk storage. The soil can be repaired, some of it may need to be removed, and replaced with good topsoil, or a lot of organic material added to dilute it.

Almost any spot along a fence line or the side of your house east, west or south will provide a good growing spot for vegetables, a 24" bed is ideal for those locations. The east location would not be good for sun-loving crops but would work well with some cool season crops.

Crops like pole beans, tall peas, cucumbers, other curcubit family plants including melons can be trained up tomato cages or posts that will provide support for them. Of course tomatoes can be strategically placed among other low growing plant types also. You will want the beans, tomatoes and melons on the south if possible, or the west if you do not have a south location, and the peas and cucumbers should do fine in any location.

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Salvia or Scarlet Sage is one of the most recognizable flowers in the world, due to the fact that it has a sizable number of species, believed to number around 900 consisting of shrubs, perennials and annuals. The plant reportedly originated from Africa and the Mediterranean while some specific species were first located in the Americas, specifically Argentina and Mexico. They carry numerous characteristics that are common to rhizomes and tuberous plants but different species come with different colors, shapes and size, meaning while some species come with small leaves, others come with big ones that may look hairy or even leathery.

While some species of salvia are unscented, others come with a strong pleasant scent, which makes it easy to attract organisms such as birds and bees for pollination. One of the reasons salvia can be found in many gardens all over the world is the fact that the huge number of species available makes it easy for an interested gardener to find a couple of them that will thrive in a particular climate or soil type. The best type of soil for this flower is well drained soils with direct access to sunlight or light shade in extremely hot climates. If the soil in your location retains water then it may be a good idea to mix the soil with peat moss to enhance its drainage abilities. Alternatively, you can decide to plant the flowers in large containers stuffed with well drained soils that retain some level of moisture.

The main method of propagation for the salvia plant is through its seeds and this is normally done in the beginning of the year from January to March, and it is important that you assess the size of your yard in order to plant an optimum number of seeds to ensure proper aeration when they germinate. Sowing your salvia seeds can be an exciting time for any gardener due to the fact that it gives you the chance to start dreaming about the future of your plants. However, you should not forget to add some organic compost to the soil and level it after sowing to enhance the probability that your seeds will germinate successfully. Salvia seeds are quite big unlike other flowers meaning you can easily carry them one by one without any sort of difficulties.

Watering is another important activity that should be conducted after sowing your seeds. It is important that you do not soak the soil with excess water and if possible use a mist sprayer while making sure that you leave some distance between where you are standing and the place the seeds have been sown.

The next thing to do to cover your planted seeds with a clear bag until the seeds begins to germinate after a couple of days. When the young plants start springing up then you will have to remove the covered bags to give the plants ample access to the sun. If you have to transplant seedlings for any reason then you will have to be cautious about how you handle the stems as they could easily get broken and destroyed permanently.

When salvia is sown in fertile soils and all the necessary conditions are observed then their flowers will begin to bloom from June until the first frost occurs. Salvia plants can grow as tall as 9 inches and as a result can be used for creating borders as well as grown in patios and tubs for aesthetic purposes in the home.

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Two Fluorescent Grow Lights On the Market

In the search for indoor fluorescent growing lights, you may have heard that T8 fluorescent lamps are more efficient than standard T12. You may have also heard buzz about the other new fluorescent growing lights, the T5 High Output (HO). So what are the pros and cons of these two different technologies? How do they compare and which is best for your garden?

The Difference

The basic difference between these two fluorescent bulbs is reflected in their names. The T8 bulbs are eight eighths of an inch in diameter (equivalent to 1 inch thick). The T5 bulbs are thinner at 5/8 of 1 inch thick.

Many indoor gardeners prefer T8 grow lamps over T12 because they produce more overall lumens than regular T12 fluorescent bulbs, have a longer life and are more efficient.

The advantage of the T5 high output bulbs is that they are even more efficient than the T8 by about 9%, can produce more light in a smaller amount of space, and use less wattage (75 to 90 lumens per watt). T5 HO also have high color rendering properties (CRI) meaning they are more visually appealing. (The color rendering index is only important when you care about how the light looks to the human eye but not necessarily important to plants, however.)

However, despite higher efficiency, T5 bulbs require different more expensive fixtures. Another downside is that they tend to have a lower life span of around 10,000 hours as compared to the average 20,000 hours of T12s, and 30,000 hours of T8 tubes.

If you look hard enough, you can find T5 bulbs with longer life spans, so make sure to check this specification before purchasing.

Uses

Both the T5 and the T8 bulbs can effectively be used as the main source of lighting, as well as supplemental lighting for your indoor garden.

T5 bulbs do emit more lumens and put off more heat than other fluorescent lights, so you may need to use a small fan to keep your plants cool when under these bulbs.

So with all of the this comparative information, the clear winner would be...

Hold the Press!

Before you go out and purchase your new, more efficient T5 grow light, there's another, even newer option you will want to consider!

This latest fluorescent light technology is called the "Super T8", and is actually a high output T8 bulb that rivals the efficiency of the T5 HO bulbs, and has a few more advantages, such as longer lifespan.

Before you go out and buy any other High Output bulb, you will definitely want to learn more about the Super T8 bulb to see if it might be the right indoor grow light for you.

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There are many things you can do to adorn your yard, but one of the best ways to make this space truly appealing is to plant a wide variety of beautiful flowers. There are very few people in this world who do not like flowers, there are so many types, colors and species in and around the world that there is sure to be at least on to appeal to every age group, sex or personality. Beauty is objective, but here are the top ten most beautiful flowers in the world.

Bleeding heart

These flowers are usually pink, red or white and grow between the months of April and June. They got this name due to their resemblance to tiny hearts with drops of blood at the end. They have a whimsical appearance and are popularly used in landscape designs. They usually grow two to three inches in height and are favorites in shade gardens.

Blue bells

As the name suggests these beautiful flowers are blue and shaped like tiny bells. The story is that they were named by 19th century romantic poets as a symbol of regret and solitude. The stems are between 10 and 30 centimeters in length and they usually bend over at the top. They generally bloom in April and may.

Rose

Almost everyone is familiar with the beautiful look and smell of the rose. There are over 100 species within the Rosacea family. Some popular types of roses are Gallica, China, Bourbon, Polyantha, hybrid tea rose and English rose. They usually have different colors having a different meaning. Red is the traditional sign of love, white is for innocence and purity and pink symbolizes elegance and grace.

Begonia

These flowers originated in England and have become very common in the United States. They have a pretty yellow color with red tips and there are over 1500 species of begonias in the world.

Dendrobium

This is a genus of orchids that was established in 1799 by Olof Swart. These beautiful flowers have a magical appearance due to their perfect formation and delicacy. It has a color combination of yellow, white and lavender.

Ixora

This is also known, as the West Indian Jasmine and is native to the dub tropical and tropical regions. The red Ixora is commonly used in Indian folk medicine or in Hindu worship. For years this flower has been associated with passion and enhanced sexuality.

Lantana

These are delicate flowers with yellow and pink petals. The flowers can also be white, orange, red and purple. These are great for gardens, they may require lots of sun, but are able to flourish in poor soils.

Black eyed Susan

These flowers are considered biennial and this means they live for two years. During the first year, they grow as a rosette with leaves growing form the centre and in the final year the send up flower stalks before dying. The black eyed Susan is yellow with a brownish-purple centre. They generally bloom throughout the months of June, July, August, September and October. They have a tendency to attract butterflies, which may be one of the reasons why many people chose to plant them in their gardens and why they are among the most beautiful flowers in the world.

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In addition to oxygen, carbon and hydrogen, anthurium flowers like practically all other varieties of plants demand thirteen elements to live. A lot of these elements are only essential in trace amounts, but there are half a dozen elements that are required in greater portions and hence are deemed macro nutrients. They're: nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium; and magnesium, sulfur and calcium. In this posting, I am about to take a look at the most important macronutrients: potassium, nitrogen, and phosphorous.

Nitrogen happens to be an inert gas that makes up roughly 78% of the air we inhale. Can you believe that there's much more nitrogen within the atmosphere than oxygen? Anyway, nitrogen is extremely important to plants. It helps them to grow bigger, with out it your plants will probably be stunted. Yet plants don't use gaseous nitrogen they usually call for it to be fixated or coupled with other components. Most of the time microbes are usually accountable for fixing nitrogen.

Phosphorus in the pure form is very reactive and really dangerous. Luckily it is not found within this form normally. It's quite important to cellular membranes. Without having it cells in all plants and animals would expire. Vegetation suck plenty of phosphorus out from the earth therefore fertilizers contain huge amounts of it. It governs the growth rate of plants and if it isn't provided, crops will certainly quit thriving. A small deficit will result in stunting of anthurium plants, while a serious insufficiency will cause necrosis of the foliage.

Potassium is quite comparable to sodium and in elemental form it is going to liberate hydrogen gas if dropped in h2o. The heat generated from this reaction may then spark the hydrogen. A lack of potassium will cause the foliage of the plant to become yellow. If the insufficiency is extreme enough the yellowish areas will at some point become necrotic and the leaf may expire.

So that is just about all there is to it. These happen to be the essential macro nutrients that most anthurium plants require. Without them your plant will quit growing and producing blossoms and could even pass away. So ensure that your anthurium gets these nutrients. And it most likely is actually a very good idea for you personally to receive these nutrients as well, but needless to say we have to get these kinds of nutrients via food, definitely not from a bag of fertilizer.

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I like to keep my home vegetable gardening as simple as possible. Sure on occasion I will venture out into something new and little more advanced, but my entire gardening process surrounds some basic tips that I am going to share with you in a moment.

My gardening philosophy stems from the teachings of my dad. My dad is a very simple person and that translated the same into his garden. So when I watched him all of those years I saw that he kept things simple and easy to handle. My tips that I am going to share with you are really his tips, and for many of you out there they may already be your tips.

Tip #1
Grow what you like to eat. many times new vegetable gardeners will go crazy when buying seeds or plants. Most of the time buying things they or their family do not even consume. My brother is notorious for this. Instead, think about what you and your family actually consumes, and grow those fruits, vegetables and herbs. You will save on a lot of space and time on items that would simply just rot.

Tip#2
Keep the size of your garden reasonable. For many the size of your garden will be dictated by the amount of land you actually have. However there are a number of people who lots of land and want to grow huge gardens, bordering on the size of a small farm. What they fail to take into account is that the larger the garden the more work it will equate to. So try to keep your garden the size of what you can handle. Too large and you may become overwhelmed and lose interest.

Tip #3
Keep your garden within sight. What I mean here is your garden should be within view from the inside of your house. I find, as do others I have talked to (whew, glad I am not alone here), that you are more likely to keep up with your vegetable garden if you can keep it in plain sight. It allows you to keep an eye on what is growing well, what is not, the weeds that need to be taken care of and so on. You will find that once you have home vegetable gardening down, your maintenance will be very minimal (or at least should be).

Sure these three tips won't make you a commercial farmer capable of feeding the planet, but they will make your home vegetable gardening experiences more fun and enjoyable, and more importantly keep you motivated to grow every season.

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Since the economy has gotten so bad a lot of people are turning to growing their own herbs, fruits and vegetables. You will really be amazed at how much money you can save by growing your own produce.

When you grow your own herbs, fruits and vegetables you know exactly what went into growing them. By knowing what was used for fertilizer and pest control you will know exactly what you are feeding your family.

Now days there have been so many produce products which have been tainted. They have been making people sick and some have died. This is the reason you need to grow your own so you will know exactly what is being put into the growing process and what you are feeding your family.

Salmonella will make you deathly sick and if the herbs, fruits and vegetables get tainted in the fields and then make their way to the grocery stores you will never know until it is too late. But if you grow your own you will know your family will be safe.

Not only will you save money and feed your family healthy and safely, you will also enjoy the flavor-fresh herbs, fruits and vegetables will have. You wouldn't think there would be that much difference in the taste but there truly is.

Have you ever bought a piece of fruit or vegetable where when you got it home and maybe you forgot about it because it got shoved to the back of the shelf? I have and it would shock you at what I found.

The fruit or vegetable which ever it may have been looked just as pretty and fresh as the day I bought it. But when I cut into it the inside was like dust. Honestly there was nothing inside except dust. Just by looking at it though you would have thought I had just bought it. They put some kind of preservatives on them so they will continue looking good longer and believe me what ever it is can not be good for you.

When you grow your own herbs, fruits and vegetables you will know when they go bad. You will also know exactly what you and your family are eating.

If this article has not made you realize the importance of growing your own herbs, fruits and vegetables then I do not know what will.

Remember the importance of growing your own garden is to save money, the amazing flavor and more importantly you and your family will be eating healthier.

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