Gardening in spring

How is your garden doing this spring?

Seeding, planting, watering, controlling insects, weeding...gardening is fun but it's also work. Fortunately, we've already appreciated eating vegetables from our small garden. The flowers are adding nice colors to our backyard too.

The romaine lettuce and radishes came quick. We didn't do so good with the sweet peas. The tomatoes are doing well too.
We're trying to stay organic as much as we can.   

Are you having any problems with aphids on your lettuce? Debbie has been spraying them with water and it's working except they keep coming right back. Now, she is using soapy water which worked well for us in the past. I smiled when I saw some ladybugs in the garden. They'll be good for something.
The pruning in the fall paid off with the fruit trees growing well.

It's not always that simple to choose seeds, plants, and flowers for a small garden. We have a good variety of vegetables with various peppers, squash, tomatoes, radishes, peas.

These are some of the things we keep in mind year after year that have proven to be useful.  You may want to try them as well:

• we rotate the plants every new season
• not forgetting where we get the most sun and shade and plant accordingly
• grouping our plants and vegetables
• remembering past successes and the "not so good results" so we adjust our soil condition
• staying practical with location for climbing vegetables, the ones that take a lot of room, the ones the grow wide (squash), and the ones that grow fast then needing to be replaced because they can't handle the heat later on.
• We try to stay organic.

 All in all we learn every spring and enjoy the gardening experience.  It's a hobby that can feed you.

Gardening activities in the winter

It's nice to sit back and relax from gardening activities in the winter.  However, if you enjoy gardening and the wonderful results that you receive, you may want to continue gardening in the winter.  A few simple steps can make a big difference for better results in the busier gardening season. 

These 5 steps can help you extend your gardening season and improve results in the summer.

1. The first thing to do in the winter is clean up and maintain tools. The winter is a slow gardening season but we get a head start on the more active season when our tools and equipment are clean, wood handles oiled, clippers, shears and pruners sharpened.  It's also the time to get pots and planters cleaned, stored, and ready.  
2. Pruning.  You may want to prune your plum trees in the spring, but the time to prune your apple and pear trees is in the winter.  You also want to prune your fruit bushes.  What about those runaway vines?  Time to cut them back, including the wisteria you may not want.
3. Composting.  The soil does not stop decomposing in the winter.  You may want to recycle some of your potting soil, but you can also add some to your compost pile.  You're still consuming things that you usually add to your compost.  Just continue to build your organic compost throughout the winter. Learn to grow "organic" here.
4. Indoor planting and plants to grow in the winter. We have moved our herbs indoor and are still enjoying them in the winter.  You can do the same.  In addition to that, you have plants that will grow in the winter.  Some vegetables may grow slowly in the winter but they will start again in early spring.  Depending on how cold it gets in your area, you can still grow hardy leaf crops like kale in the winter.  Some gardeners can also grow garlic, sweet peas, fava beans, sweet peppers, parsley even cabbage in the winter.  You will need to protect your vegetables with cloches or plastic protectors when it gets too cold.  This creates an artificial temperature environment for the plants but it works.
5. Start seeding in the winter.  We just planted seeds in small pots to give them a head start for the spring.  Garden and hardware stores like Lowe's and Home Depot are already selling seeds for gardening.  You can keep your pots indoors until it starts getting warm or you can move them when appropriate to a cold frame.  You can also order your seeds for the spring and summer now. 

These simple steps will make gardening easier for you to be ready come spring.  You will have your own compost to get you started, cleaned and sharpened tools, your trees nicely pruned, and young plants and vegetables to transplant to your garden.  You can start the busy season with a smile because you would be prepared.

I suggest this site "organic gardening" to get more information on other gardening aspects.

Happy gardening!

If you like these tips, share this post with the "share" button below.  Thanks!

Gardening doesn't stop in the fall. Build your own greenhouse.

Now comes the fall season.  Sure, you have a lot to do: clean out, get leaves for compost, move plants, flowers and plants...but gardening does not stop. Yes, there still a lot of gardening to do in the fall. Fall has its own unique herbs, flowers and plants.  Having your own greenhouse does make a difference.

Our tomatoes are still doing great.  Even the different peppers are doing better than in the heat of the summer.  (We're in Georgia now, folks).  But, just about anyone can still harvest summer squash in the fall and even plant a herb garden.

What do you do if you're a gardener and fall descent on you every year?  We move everything to our "greenhouse" which is also our sunroom.  It's amazing how, year after year, our plants, flowers, and herbs have survived the fall and winter by just staying in our greenhouse/sunroom.  

If you don't have a greenhouse now, you can get all the information about building your own by going to greenhouse made simple where you'll find detailed plans for even the smallest backyard greenhouse and save money.

We've grown a fig tree, boungainvillea plant, avocado tree, trumpet flower...just by moving the small plant/tree from small to bigger pots into our greenhouse from season to season.  When these plants/trees/flowers get big enough, we simply put them in the ground where they can survive on their own.

In addition to that, the greeneries of the greenhouse is just pleasant even when the weather outside is not warm.  It's amazing how the plants seem to be happy when they get in our greenhouse/sunroom in the fall.

There is no way we could have done that without our own greenhouse.  Any serious gardener needs his or her own greenhouse.  Check out how to build your own greenhouse inexpensively here: greenhouse plans

Our experience on using Mel's Square Foot Gardening

We've used Mel's (Mel Bartholomew) Square Foot Gardening this year.  Click this link to see it: Square Foot Gardening Book

We liked it and we're still using it.  This method is simple and really allows you to plant more in less space.
 We got great benefits out of his system.  Some of these benefits are as follow:

• We were able to increase our area of gardening because we just built boxes pretty much anywhere in our garden; even in area where we were not planting before.
• It's easier to water the "boxes" because we can go around a lot easier than with a traditional gardening area.
• It's easier to rotate vegetables and flowers and have more flexibility.  We even emptied one of the boxes and saved the rich soil.  We stored the box and will use it again next year.  You can't move a traditional garden like that.
• Other benefits can be found in his book:   Square Foot Gardening Book
  
  We did learn a few things that were not in the book.  This is what we've learned from our experience:

• It's hard to find large bags of vermiculite.  By trying to follow Mel's system, we ended up with a good quantity of Peat Moss left over.  It's easier just to buy an already mixed formula.  Companies are now making good mixes with similar ingredients as Mel recommends.  The best we've found was by Miracle Grow.  It's rich in compound and has all the ingredients you need.  It worked just as well in one of our boxes. 
• Mel said "weed is no problem"...because weed doesn't grow in Peat Moss and vermiculite.  True, but..  Weed will come from under your box and invade your Square Foot Garden if you do not put a very good plastic weed barrier under the box. We just stapled it to the bottom of the box. We've used the regular mesh like weed barrier and it was not good enough.  The soil is rich in that box and the weed wants it too. 
• Mel said not to use treated wood because of the chemicals not good for plants.  We found out that it's best to go ahead and paint the wood before you build the box.  This is something we'll do next time.  That garden box gets exposed to elements and gets water almost daily.  As a result, it starts looking not so attractive after a while. Paint it if you're not getting treated wood.
• The divider grid that really makes the box a SFG (square foot garden) is not a bad idea.  I like it.  My wife does not like it.  She thinks it's not that necessary.  She is usually right.  Either way is fine with me.  But! Mel's point is valid.  Read the book and you'll see why.

Other than that, we love his approach as it really simplified things and allowed us to grow more in less space.  To grow organic just about anywhere and in less time, you may want to check out  food for wealth.

So, there you have it.  Our experience with Mel's SFG.  Share your experience if you've used this system.

Gardening Ideas from Melba's Garden

Melba Price has been gardening for many years and was nice enough to offer us some practical tips. She grows vegetables, flowers, and various berries. The collage above shows you some pictures from her garden.
Here is Melba:

1. Start small and expand when you feel like you can handle more. Gardening is a lot of work and you don't want to overdo it too quickly and get discouraged. Build on your success.

2. You will get some bad seeds from time to time. Simply be aware of it and just replant with good seeds.

3. I constantly keep my three essentials of gardening in mind: water, soil, and sun. You need a good balance. When something is going wrong with your garden, you can usually trace it to one of those essentials. I personally add "Miracle-gro" every other week to keep my soil rich.

4. Learn to identify garden pests and check daily. Get rid of them quickly. I try to be as organic as possible but sometimes I just get my "Sevin Dust" out. That seems to work best for me.

5. Keep the area around your garden beds free of grass and weeds. You don't want grass clippings in your garden beds because you have to mow close to your garden.

6. Read and talk to others about gardening and learn as you go. You'll gain experience and enjoy the rewards. I mentioned earlier that gardening is lot of work. It's also a lot of fun when you start enjoying it. And it's easy to enjoy when you start eating fresh vegetables from your garden and seeing pretty flowers around the house.

7. Always share what you grow from your garden with others. Your blessings will multiply.
Good gardening and never give up.

Relax and have fun!
Melba

Learn about organic gardening by clicking on this link family gardening.

The three important factors for good gardening

Are you having a problem with your plants and/or flowers growing?

Make sure you have these three factors in check and you will be ahead:

• Soil
• Sun
• Water

You need a rich soil that is well composted, balanced, and aerated. 
You need decent sunlight for your plants and flowers when called for.
And you need sufficient water.

If your soil is rich and you know you are getting enough sun, then you need to water more...unless you're watering way too much, then you need to water less.  Usually, your plants and flowers need more water.
We just had that experience, that's why I'm writing this post. 

We knew we had a small problem with our soil.  We took care of that this year.  And we know our plants and vegetables are receiving enough sun.  So, why were our plants, flowers, and vegetables suffering? 

On a visit to our friends James and Melba, we noticed how well their vegetables were doing.  We got the answer to our dilemma in a conversation with them.  James said: soil, sun, and water.  If you have good soil, enough sun, but poor result, then water more.  We did that and it was magic.  Happy plants, vegetables, and flowers.  Everything resumed grow with nature's smile.  So, we thought we should share.

Enjoy!

6 TIPS ON HOW TO CARE FOR YOUR HOUSE PLANTS

Many people worry a lot when it comes to caring for their plants. When talking about house plants, there is no need to worry. There are just a few things you need to consider.

1. Watering
Overwatering kills most houseplants. Looks can be deceptive, so to see if your soil is dry enough to water, try the finger test. Insert your index finger up to the first joint into the soil. If the soil is damp, don't water it.

2. Feeding
Foliage plants usually have high nitrogen needs, while Potassium Oxide (K2O) is needed for flowering plants. Feed plants during their most active growth period.

3. Lighting
Some tough indoor plants like Aspidistra (cast-iron plant) and Sansevieria, (mother-in-law’s tongue) require no sun. They can be placed away from a window. Spider plants need semi-shade. You can put plants like these near a window that does or does not get sunlight. Check the label to see what your plant needs.

4. Temperature
Houseplants can survive in cool or warm temperatures, but drastic fluctuations of temperature may not be good for them. One thing that most plants cannot survive is gas heating. If you have a plant that likes warm conditions, don't put it near an air conditioner in the summer.

5. Humidity
Some houseplants require a humid environment. One tip to maximize humidity is to put the pot inside a larger pot and fill in the gaps with stones or compost to keep in the moisture. Grouping plants together often creates a microclimate that they will benefit from. If you want, you can spray them with water once or twice a day depending on the temperature.

6. Re-potting
Some plants require re-potting for optimum growth but there are others that resent having their roots disturbed. Or their roots system may be small enough that they don't require re-potting. One way to check if your plant needs re-potting is to turn it upside down. Tap the pot to release the plant and check its roots. If roots are all you see, then re-pot. Sometimes the roots will come out of the pot. You should either cut them off or re-pot the plant.

You just need to have a little care for your plants and in turn, you'll reap the benefits. Indoor plants not only add to the beauty of your décor, but also give much pleasure to the indoor gardener.