Showing posts with label slugs and snails. Show all posts
Showing posts with label slugs and snails. Show all posts

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Need Some Quick Horticulture Advice? Read This

Horticulture can be very useful, rewarding and fun. It really pays off when you are able to have a successful garden. Not only do you get good produce, but also a wonderful sense of accomplishment. The tips in this article will help you get the most from your garden.

Invest in a kneeling stool, and a wheelbarrow to work in the garden. Horticulture can be very tough on the knees as you spend much time leaning near the ground, so a portable stool can make all the difference to your comfort. Horticulture involves moving heavy objects and dirt, so a wheelbarrow makes for a wise investment.

When planting perennials, seek out those that are resistant to slugs. Slugs and snails can decimate a plant in one night. These pests prefer plants with thin smooth leaves. Plant some helleborus or euphorbias along with your other perennials. Others, though, are disliked by slugs and snails. Those with rough leaves or an unappetizing taste will be less desired by slugs and snails. Examples of these include euphorbia, hellebourus and achillea. Others you may want to consider are campanula and heuchera.

Make sure to lay the sod properly. Your soil should be prepared before you lay the sod. Eradicate any weeds and work the soil until it is very fine. When the soil is clean, pack it tightly and create a flat surface. Moisten the soil thoroughly. You should lay your sod staggered, and have the joints offset. Press the sod down firmly so that the surface is flat and even. If there are gaps remaining, fill them with a bit of soil. You will have to water the sod every day for 2 weeks, and then it should be firmly rooted to the ground, and able to be walked on.

Any time that you are gardening in direct sunlight, dress appropriately to prevent skin damage. Wear sunscreen, wide-brimmed hats and sunglasses. Wearing sun protection will prevent your skin from burning and by extension will reduce your risk of developing skin cancer.

Plant perennials that are slug-proof. Slugs and snails can decimate a plant in one night. They gravitate towards perennials with smooth thin leaves, particularly on younger plants. Perennials with hairy, tough leaves as well as those with unpleasant taste are not appetizing to snails and slugs. Wonderful varieties of such perennials include euphorbia, campanula, helleborus, achillea, and heuchera.

Fertilize your garden. While a lot of people use manure, it is better to choose fertilizer from a reputable company, as this will reduce the risk of any pathogens getting into your soil. There are many fertilization methods out there; the type is not quite as important as actually using something.

Keep your tools stored away safely if you're in a large traffic area. If valuable tools are left out, it could prove to be too tempting for a potential thief.

Soak your seeds in a dark spot during the overnight hours. Put some seeds (a small amount) in a container that isn't too large for the plant you'll be growing. Fill that container with water, almost to the top. This will give your seeds a good start by making sure they have plenty of water, which they need to sprout. This will also give your seeds a much better chance to survive and mature.

You need water for a healthy garden. Just like people, plants require water for their survival. On very hot days, the sun can dry out the soil, and it is important that no one forgets to water the garden thoroughly. With sufficient watering, a garden will thrive.

Snails can be sprayed away with a mixture of ammonia and water. The ammonia will not hurt your precious plants, and it will later convert to beneficial nitrogen. It will kill off the snails and stop them from bringing harm to your garden beds. For best results you're going to want to use this mixture daily.

When mowing the lawn, don't mow the grass all the way down to the root. If you let your grass keep some height after mowing, it will be able to absorb more sun and moisture resulting in a lusher, greener lawn. The shorter the grass, the shallower the roots, which makes the lawn more likely to develop brown patches.

Avoid sun damage by dressing appropriately whenever you will be gardening in the sun. Choose hats with overlapping brims, don those sunglasses and smear on the sunscreen. When you protect yourself against the sun's rays, you are more likely to avoid both skin cancer and sunburn.

If you're growing veggies in the garden, they need to be in a spot that lets them get about six hours of sun daily. Many vegetables need about this much sun to grow quickly. Some flowers need the same thing.

You should divide irises. Take clumps that have become overgrown and divvy them up into separate plants. If you notice a dead foliage, lift the bulb. You will be able to split the bulb easily and replant it to get more flowers next year. For plants with rhizomes, use a knife to divide them. You can split the Rhizomes production by cutting off thin portions from the exterior and discarding the remaining insides. Each piece should have at least one strong offshoot. Immediately replant all your selected cuttings.

Bulbs are a great option for people who want to enjoy spring and summer flowers. Most people have no trouble successfully growing bulbs, and their flowers will return each and every year. Specific types of bulbs usually bloom at specific times of the season, so if you make appropriate selections, you can be rewarded with blooms from the early part of spring to the later part of summer.

Pest control is one of the hardest things about growing a vegetable garden. Avoid spraying harsh chemicals on fruits and vegetables destined for your table. Instead of resorting to these harmful chemicals, you can keep garden pests at bay simply by paying close attention. If you catch pests early, you can remove them by hand effectively.

When thinking about the vegetables to plant in your garden, consider the vegetables that you most commonly use in the kitchen. By doing this, you will be able to use the horticulture space to your best advantage, and you will also save money on food bills. There is no point in growing something that your family will not eat, especially if you are limited on space.

Vegetables should be planted in an area where they will get a minimum of six hours of daily sunlight. Almost all vegetables need this much sunlight, so that they can grow correctly and in a shorter amount of time. This also rings true for some of the flowers.

In conclusion, whether you are gardening on your own or with friends, the tips you've read above are sure to be helpful. Gardening can become a treasured family activity. You can even invite your friends! Regardless of whether you garden alone or in the company of others, these tips are sure to be a valued part of your gardening technique.

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Horticulture Hints For People Who Are Intimidated By It

If lush and vibrant plants growing in your personal garden are something that you aspire to, then a number of things need to be taken into consideration for you to reach that dream. If you go in without knowing what you're doing, you'll be putting in a lot of hard work for nothing. You'll never experience the fun that comes with gardening. The following hints and tips can reduce the effort and increase the fun!

Plant some trees that bear colorful fruit in the fall. Fall color is usually something that foliage boasts, but there are many trees that produce beautiful, colorful fruit. The berries, which last deep into the winter, blossom in magnificent shades of yellow and red, adding a burst of color to an otherwise drab landscape. Some great examples of these types of plants are crabapple, hawthorn, chokeberry, and holly.

When planting perennials, seek out those that are resistant to slugs. Slugs and snails can decimate a plant in one night. These pests prefer plants with thin smooth leaves. Plant some helleborus or euphorbias along with your other perennials. Others, though, are disliked by slugs and snails. Those with rough leaves or an unappetizing taste will be less desired by slugs and snails. Examples of these include euphorbia, hellebourus and achillea. Others you may want to consider are campanula and heuchera.

There is always a best time to pick your garden's vegetables, and you should know them. Every veggie variety has an ideal time frame for picking, so it's important to catch them when their flavors peak. For instance, zucchini and baby peas have the best taste when you pick them early. On the other hand, tomatoes taste best when they are as ripe as possible from the vine. Thus, you ought to familiarize yourself with the best times to pick the produce from your garden.

Watering your garden too little or too much is to be avoided if you want your garden to grow properly. Over watering can cause the roots of your plants to rot and under watering does not give your plants the moisture they need to grow healthy and strong. Remember to keep an eye on the moisture in your soil, and maintain it at the proper level.

Use the correct type of soil for best results. You should choose your soil depending on the plants that you are going to plant. You can also create an artificial area with only one kind of soil.

Using natural materials in the garden will keep pests away. For example, if you plant onions or marigolds along the edges of your vegetable garden, you can ward off slugs. Wood ash, when used like mulch, can keep away pests after it is spread around a tree base and shrub seedlings. Using these methods eliminates your need of chemical pesticides.

Dwarf fruit trees are the perfect choice for a small sized garden. Most gardens, especially the ones in city lots, tend to be small, but there's always area for a small fruit tree. These tiny trees will bear full-sized fruit in about three years. Dormant trees should be planted in the spring and then watered well until they get established.

Make garden tools do double duty as handy makeshift rulers. Tools with long handles, such as shovels, hoes and rakes can be made into measuring sticks. Just lay your tool down on the floor then lay a yardstick beside the handle. Label the distances onto them using a permanent marker pen. Next time you are working in the garden, you will have a large ruler at your fingertips!

The quick and drastic change in the weather conditions can shock your plants and cause them to die. It's important that you gradually change temperate conditions over time, so that your plants can adjust. Start by placing your plants outside for a few hours only. Slowly, day after day, you can leave your plants outside for a little longer. Finally, after about a week, you should be able to move them outside and leave them there for the summer.

Clay soil is hard and will also stick to a shovel, making it difficult to work with. Coat the shovel with floor or car wax, and buff it with a clean rag to make the job a lot easier. By waxing the shovel head, the clay will not be able to adhere to the surface.

Analyze the soil before you even get started with working in a garden. Have a soil report done. It is cost effective and you can make necessary adjustments, based on the report, to your soil so it is correctly enriched to encourage plant growth. The cost of the analysis will be easily offset by the benefits of a healthy and vibrant crop.

In order to rid your garden of pests, take advantage of plant materials and other organic matter. Slugs can be kept at bay with a patch of marigolds or pungent vegetables. Keep insects away from shrub and tree seedlings with mulch containing wood ash. Natural remedies, like the ones listed, will help reduce the need and usage of harsh chemical pesticides.

Beautiful insects are attracted to heather when you plant it. Bees are attracted to heather, and they can bring a source of nectar early in the spring. Undisturbed shrubs, such as beds of heather, are probably home to a number of beneficial insects like spiders and ground beetles. If you do have to tend to your heather, wear gloves in case you accidentally annoy one of the residents!

In order to rid your garden of pests, take advantage of plant materials and other organic matter. Onions and marigolds can get rid of pests in the garden. Wood ash used as mulch helps repel pests as well when around shrubs and trees. You will be able to stay away from harsh chemical based pesticides by incorporating these techniques into your horticulture.

The nutrients from vegetables can help. If you steam your vegetables, you can pour the remaining water around them. For gardenias and rhododendrons, try putting your used coffee grounds or tea bags in the soil so they may acquire the acid they need for proper growth. Chamomile tea can be used as an effective fungicide for potted plants.

You could try to boil weeds if you are trying to remain organic. Boiling water is a safe herbicide which won't damage your garden or your body. Just pour out the water on the weeds being careful to avoid any nearby plants. Weed roots will suffer harm from boiling water, and this will probably stop them from growing more.

Bumble bees can help with the pollination of your garden. There are however, some bees such as the carpenter bees, that eat wood to create nests. That said, the majority of bees are crucial to your garden. Learn how to recognize the good from the bad so that you can let the good do its job.

Vegetables should be planted in an area where they will get a minimum of six hours of daily sunlight. Almost all vegetables need this much sunlight, so that they can grow correctly and in a shorter amount of time. This also rings true for some of the flowers.

Gardening can be highly rewarding and a wonderful experience. The rewards increase as you develop your skills and your garden flourishes. Use all of the information you can gather to improve and enhance your experience. If you begin by applying the suggestions from this article, the garden of your dreams will be better than you could have ever imagined.

Monday, July 30, 2012

Learn How To Get The Most Out Of Your Garden

Go ahead and get started now. You may have many questions and concerns about initiating this, but rest assured that the following paragraphs will give you the answers you seek. Read on for some helpful tips to get started in gardening.
Choose trees that come to fruition in the fall. Although fall color may be associated with foliage, there's a lot of tress that give out decorative fruit. The berries that appear on the tree will range in color from yellows to reds. These can still be seen late into the winter season, and will provide some color into your garden, as well as bird food. The best varieties include hawthorn, holly, crab apple and choke berry.
Choose perennials that slugs are not attracted to. Slugs and snails can decimate a plant in one night. They often enjoy feeding on perennials with very smooth and tender leaves. Young plants are a special favorite of theirs. Some perennials, however, leave a bad taste in slugs' mouths or are difficult to chew through because their leaves aren't tender. Wonderful varieties of such perennials include euphorbia, campanula, helleborus, achillea, and heuchera.
Plants need C02 for maximum growth. A higher level of CO2 will help plants grow better. The best method to obtain a high amount is to get access to a greenhouse. It's very important to keep the CO2 levels high so your plants have the best possible growing conditions.
When you are growing a garden, make sure you do not water your plants too much or too little. If the soil is too moist, the plant is more vulnerable to root rot, whereas failure to provide enough water will dry out the soil and kill the plant. Check the moisture level of your soil to determine if it is getting adequate water.
Do you ever wish that your fresh mint leaves would not grow as quickly and overcome your garden? You can stunt the growth of mint by planting it inside a container or super-sized bowl. The container can be planted in the ground, and it will still prevent the plant from dominating the garden.
You can get rid of salt deposits on clay pots with rubbing alcohol and vinegar. When you have plants in clay pots, ugly looking salt deposits may accumulate on the outside after a while. Spray a solution on the pot that is comprised of water, white vinegar and rubbing alcohol in equal parts. Scrub lightly and you will see the salt begin to disappear. Rinse the pot thoroughly, and allow it to dry before you plant anything in it.
CO2 is essential for growth. In general, higher amounts of CO2 are related to better plant growth. Getting a greenhouse is the best way to get a higher amount. Make sure to keep CO2 levels high to provide the best growing environment for your plants.
Some people use gardening as a source of relaxation. While there are many different ways to relax, choosing the right one for you is key. Gardening is at the top of the list of ways to relax for many people. The returns are huge for a very minute up front investment cost. The best return on your investment is the feeling of happiness and tranquility from growing your own greenery.
Place plant materials in big plastic trash bags, so that you can build layers of this material for use in your compost pile. A good time to collect compost is in fall after the leaves are raked from your yard. Put the bagged leaves somewhere that is warm. In the spring, this will be the ideal material to include in your compost pile.
Select plants that produce a relatively high yield. It is quite common to find that hybrids, which are often able to resist disease and withstand cold climates, produce yields much larger than their conventional counterparts.
Your tool handles can double as measuring sticks. Tools with long handles, such as rakes, hoes, and shovels can be converted into handy measuring sticks. After laying the handles on the floor, run the measuring tape along beside them. Label the distances onto them using a permanent marker pen. Now you will always possess a large ruler ready for your use in the garden.
With these tips, you're better equipped to grow the most beautiful garden you can imagine. In learning how to create your dream garden, you'll also be growing as a person. That's because learning how to nurture your plants will not only help you reach the goal of having a great garden, but it will help you learn to nurture yourself.