Tag Archives: gardening

Using and Choosing Rain Barrels!

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Rain barrels are a thing of the past, or they used to be. They are making a big comeback due to the contribution they make to the local ecology and for water-saving abilities. Rain barrels were used since pioneer times as a water collection system.

Ibackyard rain barreln the past, rain was pristine and could be used for human consumption, but because of pollution and other contaminants, it is not suggested to drink rainwater anymore.

Still, it comes in handy for watering plants, lawns and washing cars. It is worth having a rain barrel especially if you live in a drought prone area.

The traditional way to collect rain in a rain barrel is to connect the downspout from the gutter system to flow into the barrel.

We attached a rain chain to our rain barrel, as you can see in the photo on the left. Continue reading →

Growing Vegetables In The High Desert!

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Growing vegetables in the desert is a challenging process. High temperatures, burning sun, wind and lack of moisture can make for difficult circumstances. Still, it is very possible to build and maintain a successful garden in the desert with just a few considerations.

high desert

Soil

Desert soil is not conducive to planting or growing. It is often sandy, rocky, salty and very hard. Planting soil needs to be moist, full of nutrients and light and airy. It is essential to make proper soil available in desert areas and the best way to do that is to create a raised bed. Continue reading →

Monthly Gardening Plan!

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Gardening plans are an important part of maintaining a successful garden. Just throwing some seed on the ground is not a good way to have a bountiful harvest. Plans on location of vegetables and flowers are necessary to ensure healthy plants.

Rotation of vegetables helps prevent disease and plans ensure that companion plants are placed together and those that inhibit growth will not. \

Plans also help remind gardeners of activities that must be performed all through the year to keep your garden bountiful.

The following is a monthly plant for those gardeners in colder climates. Southern gardeners may or may not experience some of the conditions that are listed in this plan. Continue reading →

What to Plant In The Fall!

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Not only are there flowers and vegetables that can be planted in the fall for beautiful viewing and harvest that same season, but also for prep for beauty the following spring.

You can also make sure your garden is ready for the next seasons as well when the chore list around the garden is dwindling down for the cooler, end-of-year months.

Gardening organically doesn’t have to change what you plant or when, although it will help if you do some prep work for the next year. You also want to keep in mind what types of pests you will be encountering so you know how to head them off easiest.

Seed Flowers

There are certain flowers that grow from seed you want to plant in these cooler fall months. It will lay dormant for the cold winter and sprout in spring and summer, used mostly for ground cover in larger gardens. Continue reading →

Protect Your Garden From Frost

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Frost warnings usually send shivers down the backs of gardeners. A good frost can kill plants outside in a wink of an eye and they occur in the fall and the spring.

Find out when frost is most likely to occur in your area with a Frost Dates Calculator found on the internet.

This will give you a good idea of when to worry. Your local news station will most likely broadcast frost warnings too, so watch your 10 or 11 PM news.

It is vital that plants be protected from frost or they will die. Temperatures below 32 degrees are devastating to plants and even 40-degree temperatures can damage tender plants.

What Is Frost?

Continue reading →

Space Saving Garden Tips!

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Many home gardeners have a limited amount of space in which to grow a garden. Having an acre or two is a luxury most people do not have. What they do have is a tiny little city lot where their house takes up most of the space.

There may be room for a swing set and sand box for the kids, but a large garden is out of the question. Continue reading →

How to Attract and Keep Earthworms in Your Garden

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Earthworms are essential to a healthy garden. They are but one type of organism in the soil that turn waste into black gold or rich soil. They also tunnel through the soil and bring oxygen to the roots of any plants in the garden.

They loosen the soil so that roots have an easier time growing through it. They eat organic matter and their output is called castings, which are very rich and full of nutrients considered a natural fertilizer.

Attracting worms to the garden only makes your garden grow bigger and better. There are several ways to make worms at home in your garden. Continue reading →

Indoor Window Garden!

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You can still garden if you live in an apartment with no balcony or yard or if you live in an area that gets cold in the winter and you want a winter garden. Modern technology is making it very easy to maintain a garden indoors or on a window sill.

You just need the right equipment and you must choose the right type of plants to grow.

Window sill gardens are perfect for the kitchen window. The best thing to grow in them are herbs to be used in cooking. It is wonderful to walk over to the windowsill garden, pull off a little thyme and throw it in the stew cooking on the stove, Dry herbs are great flavor enhancer, but fresh herbs have an even better flavor. Continue reading →

How Do Self Watering Planters Work?

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In many cases, self watering planters and containers are very beneficial especially if you live in a dry zone or are prone to forget to do the watering of the garden. The way self-watering containers work is that there is a reservoir at the bottom of the container that holds enough water for a long period of time.

The plant receives water from the reservoir through a channel of soil that works as a wicking agent pulling the water up through capillary action.

How Does It Work?

Continue reading →

Balcony Gardening Tips!

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Balcony gardens are a good option for those that live in apartments, and love to garden. Most plants including vegetables, flowers, herbs and some fruits grow beautifully out on a balcony during the summer months.

Balcony Gardening Requirements.

One of the most important requirements in starting a balcony garden is to assess how much sun the plants get. A good 6 to 8 hours is necessary so that flowers bloom, vegetables produce and herbs stay healthy. Some balconies are just not situated in the right direction to get that much sun, or they may be shaded by trees and other buildings. Continue reading →