50 organic gardening tips you need right now
No matter how big or small your garden is, the following tips will make your garden go from good to great in no time.
01.Use mulch on your vegetable patch, trees or flower beds using only organic material – mulching help your garden to save water, adds vital nutrition and keeps pests away
02.The soil is the life of your garden: keep it healthy and your plants will take a tough stance against diseases and garden pests
03.Plants that need an acid environment will enjoy a sprinkling of pine needles that will deposit acid in the soil as they begin to decompose
04.Spray a dilution of soapy water onto leaves to get rid of annoying aphids. Rinse off afterwards. Also encourage lady birds/lady bugs to hang out in your garden
05.Avoid chemical fertilizers as much as possible – make your own delicious compost
06.Good, rich compost is fantastic for your garden since it keeps it full of nutrients, airates the soil and maintains healthy roots
07.Add value to your household property by doing some landscaping to make your garden more attractive
08.Planting trees should be done with careful forethought and planning, since trees take up so much space and become dominant features very quickly
09.Buy plants that suit the temperature, sunniness, annual rainfall and general climate of where you live
10.Trees are great environmental protectors, keeping your garden cool in summer and allowing sunshine to filter through for warmth in winter
11.Vines will keep your fences and walls shady and can spruce them up with color and shape
12.Use alternative ground covers other than grass to keep things interesting
13.Plant herbs! They help your cooking skills immensely and also look great in your garden
14.Gardens that love shade generally require less effort to maintain – although effort is a relative term
15.Use a few spots of flowers here and there to add colour to your garden
16.You can make compost from most things that were once alive (plants being the best) but avoid meat and bones
17.Dig in compost to just below the surface, but not too deep
18.When digging a hole for a tree, don’t make the edges too square or smooth since this will prevent easy root penetration
19.If your garden was in a forest, mulching would be the floor of the forest where all the goodness comes from: remember to mulch each year
20.Earthworms are your friends – they keep the soil well-fertilized and happy
21.When you plant out your plants from plastic containers you may need to rip the roots a little bit if they have attached themselves to the walls of the containers
22.After planting don’t leave soil exposed – mulch and cover!
23.Don’t only plant one type of plant or vegetable – this doesn’t happen naturally in any case. Diversify with different plants next to each other and you will encourage beneficial insects
24.Get rid of annoying weeds with undiluted, unrepentant, merciless vinegar to knock out the weeds without damaging the environment or yourself
25.Encourage natural, organic biodiversity and insects and microbes will take care of pests
26.If you have too much rain going on, mulching will help keep things together
27.Did you know that domestic gardeners tend to use more synthetic weed killers and fertilizers per metre than farmers? Keep your garden healthy and go organic
28.Too much sun damaging roots? Mulch
29.Keep mulch evenly spread at the base of trees – don’t pile it all up against the trunk
30.Stamp out weeds by covering with thick mulch and remove strong grass by the roots
31.Water well before and after you mulch
32.To make compost you can use a combination of grass cuttings, vegetable and fruit left overs, small twigs and other organic material (avoid adding dog poo, meat or bones)
33.Keep it local when you landscape: use plants that naturally occur in your region for least effort
34.If you love order and meticulousness, create a more formal garden with well-planned focal points laid out in your garden
35.Beware of poisonous plants, especially if you have children: elephant ears have poisonous leaves and sweet peas and a host of other plants have poisonous flowers
36.Choose plants that have budded but not quite flowering when you buy annuals or perennials – this will help them settle in first when you plant and develop a strong root system
37.Plants that are drought resistant will help you out if you live in a dry area: look for succulents, silver leaves and strong tap roots
38.Plan ahead when planting: factor in the size of a plant when it is fully mature and then layer your garden appropriately
39.Install a good irrigation system to water the base of plants instead of just watering over the leaves – and water early mornings if you can
40.Another benefit from composting is that it maintains a healthy pH balance in your soil and delivers well-needed micronutrients you won’t find anywhere else
41.Take care when digging so that you don’t damage roots or mess about too much with healthy soil
42.In order of preference for dealing with pests: physically remove them, use guards or barriers, biological agents such as insects and finally pesticides that are as natural as possible
43.Use autumn colours in the front of your garden to attract the eye and to make a small garden feel larger
44.Get rid of environmental noise such as traffic by adding natural sounds with wind chimes and bird feeders
45.When you first plant a tree you may need to water deeply every week for a while to help it recover from the shock of being transplanted
46.Create paths, lines and boundaries with fences, hedges and stone dividers
47.Don’t kill every insect you see: most insects are good for your garden
48.By composting you are actually adding diversity to your garden and encouraging good bacteria, microbes, worms and insects to thrive
49.Plant in the late evening or on a cloudy day so that your newly planted seedlings don’t suffer in the hot sun
50.Plant purple and blue plants in the shade to make their colours stand out really well
Learn Rose Gardening - And Have Fun Doing It!
Are you ready to learn rose gardening?
Here are some basics to help you start growing healthy, vibrant roses. It's a great thing to do for yourself and your garden!
In any rose garden there are some overall needs. Roses do need good garden soil, sunlight, and the availability of water. So let's begin to learn rose gardening with where your roses will "live."
The Rose Bed:
Almost any soil is, or can be made into, good garden soil. The best soil for your rose bed is a well-drained, fertile, light soil at least two feet deep. A pH between 6.0 - and 6.5 is ideal. Make sure your rose bed will get at least 4 hours of full sunlight a day, with 6 hours being best.
Purchasing Your Roses:
Roses can be easily bought from nurseries and garden centers. They will come as either "bare root" roses, or in containers (packaged).
Bare-root roses come with the roots protected in a moist packaging substance. Purchase these roses as close to planting time as possible, and plant them while they are dormant. Depending on your climate, the best planting time is late winter or early spring, after any frozen ground has thawed.
How To Plant Bare Root Roses:
1. Before planting, soak the roots in water overnight.
2. Dig a hole and make a mound of soil in the bottom of it. Set the plant on the mounds, spreading the roots evenly around the mound.
3. Place the rose so the bud union is at the same height as the ground surface.
4. Cover the roots with loose soil and press lightly. Add more soil until the hole is half full, then fill with water, letting the water soak in.
5. Fill the hole with soil, and you're done!
How To Plant Container, or Packaged, Roses:
1. To plant the rose while it is still dormant, take it out of the box and plant it like a bare-root rose.
2. If the rose is growing (showing leaves and flowers), cut the bottom of the container off, and cut several openings on each side. You want the roots to be unrestricted.
3. Set the rose in the planting hole to the right depth. Fill the hole with soil and water.
Mulching Roses:
Mulching your roses is good for any soil and in any climate. It is extremely helpful in dry areas. Mulch keeps the soil temperature steady, and prevents heavy rain from causing the top soil to cake up. Mulching also helps to controls weeds.
Watering Roses:
Roses need to receive 1 inch of water per week. What's the best way? Watering deeply once a week, instead of watering lightly more often. Overhead sprinkling is great when done in the morning. This lets the foliage dry out before nightfall. Using soaker hoses or other drip-irrigation systems may be a more convenient way to water your roses.
Winter Treatment:
It's fairly easy to help most roses get safely through winter. Start by shoveling a protective mound of soil around the base of the rose. Then add a few scoops of mulch around the base, and they should stay well insulated.
Pruning Roses:
As you learn rose gardening, you'll find that much satisfaction comes from pruning your roses. By pruning, you remove old wood and encourage sap to flow into younger and stronger branches.
Most roses need moderately light pruning. Prune roses in late winter or in early spring, as soon as the buds begin to swell, but before they start to open. In warm climates, pruning can be a year-round activity.
Of course, there is more to learn about rose gardening... but these basics will see that you're off to a good start. The main thing is to enjoy the beauty and blessings our roses bring us every day!
Do You Feed the Birds in your Garden?
Putting a bird feeder in your garden is a very kind thing to do. It is getting harder and harder for birds to find food in urban areas – not only in winter, but all year round – and so bird feeders can often save their lives. They are also great for birdwatching, if that’s what you’re into, especially if you leave the bird feeder in the same place for a long time so that the birds start to remember where it is.
But what kind of bird feeder should you get? The simplest bird feeders are just tables for you to put food on, but the food you put on these is easily stolen by squirrels, who will keep coming back for more and burying it all over your garden. You should consider a cage feeder, where the food is inside a cage so that birds need to use their beaks to get it, or perhaps a feeder with a specially-designed perch that will collapse under the weight of a squirrel. However, both of these options can be impractical if you want to feed larger birds, so you need to consider whether it’s really worth it or if you might as well just put out more food.
The other thing you should think about is what you’re going to put in your bird feeder. Obviously this depends mainly on what kind of birds you expect to attract. Most birds will prefer seeds such as millet, but meat-eating birds will prefer ‘bird cake’ and a few birds like hummingbirds want a mixture of sugar and water (a kind of substitute nectar). Some birds also like to eat fruit, so you might try leaving pieces of apple or orange in the mixture as well. If you’re not sure which birds will come, then the best thing to do is to have a little of everything at first, and then see what is popular.
Simple Tests to Determine Soil Type
1. Put a full trowel of soil into a graduated cylinder or other glass container with
straight sides. Fill the container almost to the top with water. Cover and shake the container, then watch the soil particles settle out. Stones and pebbles, obviously,
will sink first. Sand particles will settle out next, then silt, and finally, clay. Very tiny clay particles may not settle at all, but remain suspended in the water. Dark particles
of organic matter will either settle on top of the clay, or will float.
2. A couple of days after a good rain, scoop up a ball of soil small enough to hold in your hand and enclose with your fingers, about the size of a golf ball. Squeeze and slide
the soil between your thumb and index finger to feel its texture. Sandy soil will feeI gritty, silty soil will feel smooth. Clay soil will feel slippery.
3. Take that same ball of soil and squeeze it in your hand, then open your fingers. If the ball crumbles immediately and will not hold together at all, the soil is probably sandy. If the ball crumbles slowly, the soil is loamy (and probably ready to work if you are performing the test in early spring). If the ball sticks together, the soil contains clay; if you can roll the ball out into a rope, a substantial amount of clay is present.
4. If you suspect that your soil drains too quickly, thoroughly water a small patch of garden. Two days later, go back to the spot and dig a 6-inch-deep hole with a trowel. Feel the soil in the bottom of the hole; if it feels quite dry, your soil does indeed drain too rapidly.
5. If you suspect that your soil drains too slowly, dig a good-size hole, about a foot deep and half a foot wide. Fill the hole with water and let it drain. As soon as it empties, fill it again, and observe how long it takes for the water to drain off. If there is still some water in the hole after eight hours, the drainage is poor.
Proper placement of tree is critical for your enjoyment and their long-term survival. Before planting your tree, consider the tree's mature size. When the tree nears maturity, will it be too close to your house or other structures? Be considerate of your neighbors. An evergreen tree planted on the north side may block the sun from your next door neighbor. Will it provide too much shade for your vegetable and flower gardens? Most vegetables and many flowers require considerable amounts of sun. If you intend to grow these plants, consider how the placement of trees will affect these gardens. Will it obstruct driveways or sidewalks? Will it cause problems for buried or overhead utilities?
• Planting a Tree
A properly planted and maintained tree will grow faster and live longer than one that is incorrectly planted. Trees can be planted almost any time of the year as long as the ground is not frozen. Late summer or early fall is the optimum time to plant trees in many areas. This gives the tree a chance to establish new roots before winter arrives and the ground freezes. When spring arrives, the tree is ready to grow. The second choice for planting is late winter or early spring. Planting in hot summer weather should be avoided. Planting trees in frozen soil during the winter is difficult and tough on tree roots. When the tree is dormant and the ground is frozen, there is no opportunity for the growth of new tree roots.
Trees are purchased as container grown, balled and burlapped (B&B), and bare root. Generally, container grown trees are the easiest to plant and successfully establish in any season, including summer. With container grown stock, the plant has been growing in a container for a period of time. When planting container grown trees, little damage is done to the roots as the tree is transferred to the soil. Container grown trees range in size from very small plants in gallon pots up to large trees in huge pots. B&B trees frequently have been dug from a nursery, wrapped in burlap, and kept in the nursery for an additional period of time, giving the roots opportunity to regenerate. B&B plants can be quite large. Bare root trees require special care. Because there is no soil on the roots, they must be planted when they are dormant to avoid drying out. The tree roots must be kept moist until planted. Bare root trees should be planted as soon as possible upon arrival.
Carefully follow the planting instructions that come with your tree. If specific instructions are not available, follow these tips:
• Dig a hole twice as wide as, and slightly shallower than, the root ball. Roughen the sides and bottom of the hole with a pick or shovel so that roots can penetrate the soil.
• With a potted tree, gently remove the tree from the container. Lay the tree on its side with the container end near the planting hole. Hit the bottom and sides of the container until the root ball is loosened. If roots are growing in a circular pattern around the root ball, slice through the roots on a couple of sides of the root ball. With trees wrapped in burlap, remove the string or wire that holds the burlap to the root crown. It is unnecessary to completely remove the burlap. Plastic wraps must be completely removed. Gently separate circling roots on the root ball. Shorten exceptionally long roots, and guide the shortened roots downward and outward. Root tips die quickly when exposed to light and air, so don't waste time.
• Place the root ball in the hole. Leave the top of the root ball (where the roots end and the trunk begins) 1/2 to 1 inch above the surrounding soil, making sure not to cover it unless roots are exposed. For bare root trees, make a mound of soil in the middle of the hole and spread the tree roots out evenly over the mound. Do not set trees too deep. As you add soil to fill in around the tree, lightly tamp the soil to collapse air pockets, or add water to help settle the soil. Form a temporary water basin around the base of the tree to encourage water penetration, and water thoroughly after planting. A tree with a dry root ball cannot absorb water; if the root ball is extremely dry, allow water to trickle into the soil by placing the hose at the base of the tree.
• Mulch around the tree. A 3-foot diameter circle of mulch is common.
• Maintenance
For the first year or two, especially after a week or so of especially hot or dry weather, watch your trees closely for signs of moisture stress. If you see leaf wilting or hard, caked soil, water the trees well and slowly enough to allow the water to soak in. This will encourage deep root growth. Keep the area under the trees mulched.
Some species of evergreen trees may need protection against winter sun and wind. A thorough watering in the fall before the ground freezes is recommended. Spray solutions are available to help prevent drying of tree foliage during the winter.
Fertilization is usually not needed for newly planted trees. Depending on soil and growing conditions, fertilizer may be beneficial at a later time.
• Pruning
Usually, pruning is not needed on newly planted trees. As the tree grows, lower branches may be pruned to provide clearance above the ground, or to remove dead or damaged limbs or suckers that sprout from the trunk of the tree. Sometimes larger trees need pruning to allow more light to enter the canopy. Small branches can be removed easily with pruners. Large branches should be removed with a pruning saw. All cuts should be vertical. This will allow the tree to heal quickly without the use of sealants. Major pruning should be done in late winter or early spring. At this time the tree is more likely to "bleed" as sap is rising through the plant. This is actually healthy and will help prevent invasion by many disease organisms. Heavy pruning in the late summer or fall may reduce the tree's winter hardiness. Removal of large branches can be hazardous. If in doubt about your ability to prune properly, contact a professional with the proper equipment.
Under no circumstance should trees be topped. Not only does this practice ruin the natural shape of the tree, but it increases susceptibility to diseases and results in very narrow crotch angles, the angle between the trunk and the side branch. Narrow crotch angles are weaker than wide ones and more susceptible to damage from wind and ice. If a large tree requires major reduction in height or size, contact a professionally trained arborist. There are other methods to selectively remove large branches without sacrificing the health or beauty of the tree.
Once you have selected the autumn-flowering shrub you wish to add to your garden, make sure you plant it correctly and with care to ensure better growth and plant health.
Follow these tips:
Make the planting hole at least 50cm x 50cm x 50cm – and larger if you are planting a larger shrub.
Put 1 tablespoon of bone meal in the planting hole to help establish the roots, and 1 cup of a balanced fertiliser.
Add one-third of a bag of compost and the topsoil from the hole, and mix in with the fertilisers.
Then add a water retaining polymer according to the instructions on the packet.
Remove the plant from its bag by cutting the bag, open out the roots a bit, and plant in the hole with the top of the soil at the same level as it is in the planting bag.
Firm the soil around the plant and water thoroughly.
Use the leftover subsoil to make a rim of soil around the hole to retain water.
Apply a mulch to help retain moisture in the soil.
Water regularly to keep the soil around the plant moist until new growth appears. Then water less frequently but always deeply to encourage deep root growth.
ow to plant a shrub
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