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Container Gardening Posted On 2008-08-13 , 1:48 PM Planting in pots is not that hard of a thing to do, it may take a bit more attention to your plants but so what that just makes you a better gardener and gives you more exercise too. If you live in a condo or apartment planting in containers is perfect or maybe you just want to decorate your yard with a lot of different potted plants. If so to start out you need to consider you soil for the containers, mixing 1 part compost 1part peat moss 1 part perlite 1/2 cup dolomitic limestone 1/4 cup super phosphate for mixing the soil. Try to use large pots because small pot or containers require more attention, but always use the proper size container for the growth size of the plant that will be living in the pot. When you choose the containers be sure that they have holes in the bottom of them to ensure proper drainage, if they do not have holes in the bottom be sure to put 3 or 4 holes in the bottom of each and everyone of them about 1/2" in size. You could use a variety of sizes, shapes, color and material in your choice of containers this will add interest to your container garden, you can use containers made out of wood (red wood or ceder wood) would be best, clay, plastic, or medal to grow your vegetables. Choose leafy type vegetables plants for planting in containers these are the kind of plants that will thrive well in containers and plants that bare many fruits on their vines are also a good choice, to plant herbs aregno, rosemary and mint has a spreading growth habit and look good in hanging baskets. Herbs like summer savory, basil, thyme, and majoram grow well in a planter box about the size of a 12"x 48"x 8". HAPPY GARDENING.
maintaining productive soil Posted On 2008-04-27 , 10:47 PM We need to know how the nutrient and water move to and into the roots. Root interception,diffusion, and a mass flow, these are what move nutrients to plants. A productive soil is usually 1/3 water, 1/3 air, 1/3 solids plants send their roots deep into the soil sometimes many feet down bringing up fresh minerals from the deeper layers of soil. There are bacteria, fungi, algae and tiny animals, protozoa, nematodes, they all are essential to healthy soil. Plant deficiency diseases usually are less severe in soils that are rich in organic matter. Caring for the soil is an ongoing process and is essential for success in gardening, healthy soil has good structure that resist erosion, absorbs water quickly, drain well, and has a high moisture capacity leaving a large supply of nutrients and the soil should be loose and crumbly and not packed tightly. Maintain the soil by planting diverse crops and rotate them each year, it will nourishes the most natural microbes. Even blanket the soil to help protect the moisture and prevent weeds from growing and plant crops that are well suited for the natural environment. Insure the soil support of organic matter using compost and mulch, both clay and sandy soil can be improved by adding organic matter like peat moss, compost, so you see it is easy to help poor soil with rich nutrients that is so important for raising good healthy crops. Bad soil is easy to fix. Plants, like organic matter so chopped leaves, rotted manure and dried grass clippings, buckwheat hulls, cocoa shells, wood chips shredded bark along with some finished compost are all excellent for organic mulches. It is not a good idea to put dead infected plants in your compost pile, it can infect your compost pile and if you use the compost in your garden then you will have infected the soil and any crop that were planted, so remove it and destroy it.
Healthy Great Tasting Fruit and Vegetables Posted On 2008-04-25 , 10:09 AM With the growing price of food I think that it would be a good thing if most people would learn to raise their own vegetable and fruits. It is the best way to know just what your fruit and vegetable are being raised on. You can eat more healthier too. To raise a garden can be and is a way to relax and enjoy taking care of nature. A garden demands your attention and you must attend to it too or it will be destroyed buy insects and weeds or it will die off. So it is very important to keep the soil healthy and rich with natural nutrients, to plant healthy plants, and to enjoy raising your plants to produce healthy great tasting fruit and vegetables. While gardening is a great hobby it is a good craft as well. There are produce fairs, exhibit, and contest were people are really enjoying the chance to show off their prized harvest. Their even being recognized for the largest or the best tasting and the best looking fruit and vegetables. Being raised on a small farm I learn to plant gardens, I am a witness to the work involved, but I am a witness to the best part of gardening. That is the harvest, fresh produce, yea healthy great tasting fruit and vegetables. Planting your own garden is a way to eat healthy because this way you can control the kind of nutrients that the plants are raised on to insure your plant are healthy enough to withstand most plant diseases. You can control the chemicals that are used to combat pest and insect, that will eat up and destroy your crop. This is the best way to enjoy healthy great tasting fruit and vegetables. You do not have to plant a large garden to benefit from it, just be sure that you give your garden the care and attention that it will need to produce healthy great tasting fruit and vegetables.