Grow Beautiful Ornamental Trees

Using the Propagation Technique Known as Budding to Grow Beautiful Ornamental Trees

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Flowering Dogwood trees can be easily grown from seed. However 99.9999% of the seedlings that sprout will be Cornus Florida, which is White Flowering Dogwood. It doesn’t matter if you collect the seeds from a White Dogwood or a Pink Dogwood, the seedlings are likely to be white.

The only predictable way to grow a Pink Dogwood, Red Dogwood, or one of the beautiful Dogwoods with variegated leaves, is to bud or graft the desired variety onto a White Dogwood seedling. That’s why the botanical name for Pink Dogwood is Cornus Florida Rubra. Cornus means Dogwood, Florida indicates White, Rubra indicates Red or Pink. Cornus Florida Rubra indicates Pink Dogwood grown on White Dogwood rootstock.

Between budding and grafting, budding is the most common technique used in the nursery industry. Grafting is usually done in the late winter months when the plants are dormant. When you graft a plant you remove a small branch (4 to 6 inches) from the desired variety, trim the end of the branch to expose the tissue under the bark and then trim a taper on the end. You then trim the seedling in such a way to match and receive the branch you are grafting on to it. Timing, temperature, and humidity are all critical to the success of the procedure, which is usually done in a greenhouse.

Budding is much easier, and does not have to be done in a controlled environment. Most budding is done later in the summer when the bark on the seedling slips easily. That means that when a cut is made in the bark of the seedling it can be easily pulled away from the tissue layer under the bark. This tissue is known as the cambium layer. Here in the north Crabapples and other fruits are usually ready to bud around mid to late July, while Dogwoods are not ready until late August.

Unlike grafting where you use a small branch to attach to the seedling, when you bud you insert a single bud under the bark. Budding is usually done down low on the seedling, very close to the soil. You can bud up higher, but any new growth that appears below that bud must be removed because it will be identical to the rootstock and not the desired variety.

The budding process is quite simple. Just clip a branch from the tree of the desired variety, this is known as a bud stick because it has many buds that can be used for budding. The buds can be found at the base of each leaf. Look closely where the leaf emerges from the branch and you will see a very small bud. In the fall when the tree goes dormant the leaf will fall off, and bud will remain. The following spring the bud will grow into a new branch.

When you slip that bud under the bark of a compatible seedling, it will grow the following spring just as if it were still on the parent plant, with all of the qualities of the desired variety. Almost all fruit bearing and ornamental trees are grown this way.

Just make a "T" shaped cut in the bark of the seedling. A horizontal cut about ¼" long, with a vertical downward cut about ½" long. The two cuts should intersect at the top of the "T". Don’t cut into the cambium tissue, just slice the bark and open it up slightly with your knife or razor blade. Now you are ready to remove the bud from the bud stick.

First clip off and discard the leaf from the bud that you are about to remove. When you remove the leaf, leave the stem attached to the bud stick, just remove the leaf itself. The stem makes a nice little handle to hold on to. To remove the bud from the bud stick just cut into the bark and under the bud, it should pop off easily. Again, don’t cut into the cambium tissue, but make sure you are under the bark so you don’t damage the bud. Along with the bud you will have a small piece of bark shaped like a tiny banana peel, and the stem from the leaf.

Visit this page for photos of this complete process: www.freeplants.com/budding_fruit_trees_and_ornamental_plants.htm

Holding the bud by its handle (the stem) slide it into the "T" shaped cut you made on the seedling. Make sure you put it in right side up. The stem and the leaf should protrude through the slit, and the stem should be pointing toward the sky at an angle. Push the bud all the way down into the slit by catching the bark, (not the bud) with the tip of your knife.

Now cut a rubber band so that it is no longer a loop and wrap it around the seedling to close the opening so dirt, water, air, and insects can’t get in. Make a wrap below the bud, and a few wraps above the bud. Use a rubber band approx. ¼" wide, and be careful not to wrap too close to the bud, nor too tight.

You don’t want to strangle the seedling, it needs to be healthy and happy so the new bud will bond to the cambium layer. Leave the rubber band on until early spring, at which time you should remove it, and clip off the top of the seedling just above the bud. As the plant comes out of dormancy the bud will begin to grow into a new branch just as if it is still attached to the parent plant, except that now it is going to grow upright and form the stem of a tree.

When this new growth reaches a height of 3 to 4 feet, clip the tip off, this will force it to start putting on lateral branches. Once these lateral branches are 18" long or so, you can remove all the growth from the stem below where the lateral branches start. Now the plant should look like a beautiful little tree. And that makes you the proud parent!

With all of that said, today it is possible to grow Pink Dogwoods by rooting cuttings under intermittent mist, however, it is tricky, and my few attempts have failed. ??? Most nurseryman still bud them.

Substitute For Popular Bonsai Species

Bonsai culture offers the greatest and most beautiful tree species on this planet. Since bonsai originate from asia, most likely from China and Japan, the most popular tree’s are originating from this region.

Doing bonsai elsewhere in the world can be tricky. If your climate doesn’t match the climate in Japan, you may not be able to grow successfully some of the most popular species. Your temperature range could be too cold in winter or too hot in summer. The best examples are the tropical species that cannot be grown year long in the northern climate unless you have the proper setup indoor or the winter could be too cold for hardy species.

Rest assure, nothing is lost. Many tree species originating from certain region or growing locally can be great substitute for a bonsai candidate. The most praised maple is without a doubt the trident maple. (Acer buergerianum) This specie is cold hardy to USDA zone 5 which is around minus 27 celsius. In Canada, the winters are getting harsher temperature. A great substitute would be the Amur maple (Acer Ginnala) which is cold hardy to USDA zone 2, minus 45 celsius. This species is a great replacement since it is very cold hardy, possesses small trilobed leaves and is a fast grower.

Other species liked from bonsai enthusiast are the Japanese pines. But, once again, cold can be a disadvantage. To the rescue comes the mugho pine. This pine will tolerate some very cold temperature plus it is a very tough plant tolerating many bonsai mistake. The mugho pine needles can be reduced much like the Japanese counterpart plus it displays a textured bark.

Another popular specie is the Chinese elm (ulmus parvifolia) but once again, cold is hard on this specie. For a replacement, the less known Siberian elm (ulmus pumila) can be as beautiful as the chinese one. Much like the Chinese elm, the Siberian elm as twiggy branching, grows fast and leaves are reducing well with proper technique.

Some others tree species are the American or tamarack larch (Larix Laricina) for an evergreen, the sargeant crabapple (malus sargentii) for a flowering and fruit producing tree or the European birch (betula pendula) for a broadleaf tree. These all displays beautiful characteristics. For instance, the American larch is the only evergreen to loose it’s needles when fall show itself, the needles will turn from green to yellow for a few weeks before shedding. The sargeant crabapple will give you some nice white to pink flowers in spring and produce red fruit in autumn. The European birch as a nice white paperish bark that peel itself easily. Plus all these are moderate to fast growing tree that would yield a nice bonsai in a few years.

Simplicity With Your Home Wall Decor

I can still picture my roommate as she lay stretched out on the floor, rummaging through a pile of Martha Stewart magazines. It was our mutual friend’s birthday and we preferred to deliver our own personalized birthday gifts. My roommate sat on the floor, cutting out various chunks of pages from the magazines. After observing her assorted scraps, she mixed and matched the paper in what formed a fitting and creative design. She neatly wrapped the gift in her personalized wrapping paper.

In a hurry, I rushed to the nearest gift shop and purchased some pink and yellow wrapping, and then splurged on the additional decorations, including ribbons, a matching birthday card and a multi-colored bow to top it off.

In comparing the two gift appearances, we had very distinct tastes. My roommate’s presentation was well-thought of, personalized and simple. My gift looked more like a store display flaunting the loudest and most colorful wrapping offered. I realized then that I had executed decoration overkill on my gift wrap appearance in comparison to that of my roommate’s.

Simplicity Stands Out

I learned the hard way that simplicity is distinct and better. My roommate’s present was different, and it was clear that our mutual friend enjoyed her gift more than the others which were given that day. The same principle applies to your home wall décor. As you decorate, be sure to avoid what I like to call ‘the plague of generics.’ The following interior decorating ideas will help you keep simplicity in mind.

Home wall decor

Wall Decor is anything that you would display on the walls within your own home. Wall decor can range from traditional paintings, to engravings and woodcuts or to more shapely objects such as small indoor water fountains. Also popular, are the variable designs encased in glass and framed for display. Pressed flowers presented in this manner are especially popular, as the variation of color and design is flexible and assists in creating a relaxed and inviting atmosphere.

Frames

Frames of course, are in general simple, but they provide the aura of a picture, and thus can change the entire look of your home. Choose frames which provide the sense of completion for a picture. If you are distracted by a frame, choose another one. A frame is the aura of a picture, not the art.

Indoor Gardening

The products of nature are naturally simple, and therefore some of the most popular forms of wall décor. Indoor gardening also creates the healthy, robust atmosphere that so many families crave. Displaying some of natures’ beautiful outside creations to the home will bring a picturesque view along the walls of your home.

The Japanese Art of Bonsai Trees

Bonsai is Japanese for 'tray gardening' . Bonsai trees are miniature trees; they keep their small shape and size because of being grown in a small pot or tray and through very careful pruning. The art of pruning a bonsai tree can take a very short time to learn but many people can go an entire lifetime without actually mastering the art.

History of Bonsai

Bonsai trees have been documented to exist up to 4,000 years ago everywhere from parts of Asia to Africa. The trees were originally grown in China, but then caravans started to export the trees elsewhere such as Egypt where healers would use them to produce medicines. Some were even buried in tombs with royalty.

The original art of bonsai is thought to have started in China, where it was referred to as 'penzai' before being adapted by the Japanese. Only royalty and nobility first enjoyed bonsai trees, but then in the Edo period the art form was opened up to people of all social classes.

The Art of Bonsai

Pruning bonsai trees is very difficult and takes many years of practice to perfect. Not only does a gardener have to grow the tree properly but they must also know how to prune the branches and roots to keep the bonsai trees small and healthy. This care is part of the philosophy behind bonsai trees in that they bring together three forces: Truth, essence and beauty, or, in Japanese, 'shin-zen-bi'.

When pruning bonsai trees, the Japanese ideal is to prune them in a way that does not show any kind of intervention from outside forces. The tree must always look as though it grew completely naturally with no help. On the other hand, Chinese pruning tends to be much more artistic, as gardeners grow their trees and cut them into intricate shapes and designs such as into Chinese characters or even images of animals and dragons.

Common Kinds of Bonsai

Bonsai trees come in many different forms and varieties. The formal upright tree is one of the most common, distinguished by its balanced branches and a trunk that tapers. The sister variety is one which bends and curves, leading to more variety in how it can be displayed as pleasing to the eye.

These trees can be found all over now, with growers in every corner of the globe and collections and gardens to visit in many countries including Australia, Belgium, Montréal, Canada, China, Germany and many more places in the United States and Asia. If you are interested in learning the fine art of bonsai trees, visit one of these gardens and see the kind of large-scale beauty that can come from such a small creation.

Bonsai Tree Care

Today, bonsai care has become a very popular hobby for some who maintain the spiritual connection with nature. If that sounds like you, here are there are five basic techniques in providing bonsai care.

Water and Bonsai

Bonsai trees are planted in limited amounts of unique bonsai soil. This combination necessitates that bonsai care include a frequency in the number of times watered. There are two methods that can be used to determine the dampness of the soil; one method uses a water meter that will indicate the dampness of the soil and will help to determine whether water needs to be added.

Or, by simply inserting your finger into the soil, up to the first joint, you can feel if the soil is moist or dry. If the soil is dry, add enough water to cause the water to escape from the drainage hole of the pot. Bonsai care also requires an increase in watering during the summer months and less watering during the winter months. It is also important to remember to keep the roots of the tree dry.

Soil Nutrients and Fertilizing

Bonsai care includes the nurturing of the soil in the spring and fall season. This nurturing should include the introduction of nitrogen, potash, and phosphoric acid into the soil. The health of your indoor bonsai tree is also dependent upon fertilization. Bonsai care should include scheduled fertilization twice a month during the spring months. Additionally, fertilization should happen once a month in later fall and through winter.

Sunlight and Bonsai

Depending on the needs of your specific tree, bonsai care requires that the tree receive some direct sunlight. If this is not possible your choice of tree should be based on the limited availability of light, or, alternatively, the bonsai tree can be placed outdoors to receive its daily dose of Vitamin D. One cautionary note regarding sunlight: limit exposure if your tree has been recently placed into new soil or has been trimmed substantially.

Decorate Your House

How to Decorate Your House - for Almost No Cost!
Everyone wants to have a home like those featured in Architectural Digest, but if you're like most, your finances will not allow for it. There are, however, several approaches to decorating and designing that you can take without breaking the bank.

A fresh coat of paint can do wonders for brightening up a room, or even changing it completely. Having a room professionally painted can be pricey, however, depending on the contractor hired and the type of services provided. Rather than hiring someone, painting is a skill that is easily acquired and can even be fun to do. While it may be time consuming, it is not a difficult skill to master. A roller, pan and brush set will cost about $10.00, and a gallon of paint between $20.00 and $30.00. Add in some extra money for spackle to fill any cracks or nail holes, some primer or a base coat, drop cloths and paint remover. If you figure on two gallons of paint, depending on the room's square footage, you could have a white-walled room turn a beautiful hunter green for less than $150.00 all told! In the end, you will be left with a freshly painted, new look and the pride of having done it yourself.

Another way to save money decorating is to shop the yard sales. Sound silly? It's not. Springtime is a great time to do this, as many people are cleaning out their closets and putting things in the yard that they no longer want or they simply don't have room for. You've heard the saying "One man's trash is another man's treasure?" This can be your opportunity for treasure hunting! How many times while shopping have you stepped into an expensive boutique or gallery, just to window shop, and while browsing spotted the ‘perfect' oversized vase for your floor, or a really odd sculpture or ironwork that would be just right for your living room? Yard sales are full of these type items! Because proud homeowners re-decorate every few years, they put perfectly good (and pricey!) merchandise out for sale to the highest bidder. If you do not live in the suburbs, you can still take advantage of these type sales at your local flea market on a Saturday morning or the market on your block.

Want a completely FREE solution? Move some furniture! Not only can you change the look of your home by moving furniture within a room, you can even get creative and change the actual rooms themselves. Why not? If you have a large spare bedroom on the second floor that you have been using for a guest room, why not make this into your growing toddler's bedroom and convert his or her room to the less used, smaller guest room? If you have a family room and a living room that are approximately the same size but in opposite areas of your home, why not simply reverse the floor plan? You would be amazed at the difference this can make in livening up a house that has become stale in the decorating department. If this seems too drastic for you or you don't have the extra rooms, even moving furniture within a room can be a completely cost-free way to renovate.

Who says decorating has to be on the inside of the house only? The first impression you and your guests will have is of the outside of your home. Many people spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars in landscaping, when this cost can be cut significantly by doing your own outdoor gardening, planting and decorating. Rather than having a master plan scoped out by a professional, get creative and think of what colors and types of plants you enjoy looking at and what will grow well in your environment. It is then just a matter of buying the soil, plants, potters, and perhaps some decorative stones to lay around the new plants. This process will not be cost-free, but will be significantly less money to do it yourself than to hire a landscaper. It will also be a great excuse to get outside, enjoy the fresh air, and get some exercise! You can think of the colors you like most, and start with plants in those color schemes. Consider whether you like low-lying plants, or whether you may need to shade certain areas of your property. If so, perhaps you can consider strategic tree planting, so that you have beautiful and mature trees down the road that otherwise would have cost a fortune to have put in. Stones can be relatively inexpensive depending on where you get them and what type they are, yet they can beautify a garden, walkway, path or planted area tremendously. This is something you can add to your landscaping creation as well.

Whether indoors or out, you don't have to break the bank to have a beautiful home. A bit of creativity and a few dollars can go a long way to making the home of your dreams if you take advantage of these few simple suggestions.

7 Ways To Help Stop Your Dog From Digging Up Your Garden

Dogs love to dig, let's face it, it is a very natural and instinctual part of their makeup, and "it is a very enjoyable behavior for them" says Deborah L. Forthman, Ph.D. digging is something that dogs have been doing from the beginning, but there are ways to reduce the amount your dog digs.

Here are 7 different methods to help train your dog not to dig.

1.Before you begin with your dog obedience training on how to stop him from digging, try to figure out exactly what is causing your dog to behave that way. If he is very persistent into digging in one area, you may use the dog training command “leave” while using treats to distract him. You can also distract him by using a particular smell that excites him. These dog behavior modification methods typically work very well.

2. Try not to do any type of gardening and digging when your dog is around because remember that your dog looks up to you and wants to obey you, that being the case when your dog sees you digging and playing in the yard of course he will also think that is what he should be doing.

3. Exercise is a very important aspect of your dog's health, and not only that, the more exercise your dog gets, and the more energy the expends, the less likely that your dog will be able to muster up the energy, or the desire to go digging up your yard. If you find that your dog tends to like to dig at particular times of the day, then make sure you give him plenty of exercise around those times if possible so that he just can't be bothered digging.

4. Make sure that you are more understanding and less scolding with your dogs digging habit, particularly during the winter months. Often during the winter months dogs will dig more than the rest of the year the reasons that these years that your dog has a natural instinct for finding warmer places and dogs sense that by digging, they will get into a warmer area and this is certainly correct. If and when you do notice that your dog is digging more frequently when the temperature is cooler outside, then it is very important to be understanding and not to scold your dog for doing that, but relieve the situation by providing the right environment for him.

5. There are some dogs that absolutely positively can't resist digging, so rather than trying to go against nature and stop them altogether, let's take a different approach and create a special spot for your dog to dig in. Most dog experts agree that for some breeds it is almost impossible to prevent them from digging 100% of the time, and because your dog enjoys digging so much, train him to only dig in his special spot. The area you provide for him to did in doesn't need to be that big, something around three or four foot by six-foot should do the trick nicely.

6. Having your dog neutered or spade is one sure way to reduce their desire to dig because their drive to mate is drastically reduced, and without your dog having a strong desire to mate you almost certainly have a lot less holes in your yard.

7. Be very careful that if you do correct your dog when you catch him digging in the yard that you only do it with warmth and compassion, and that you absolutely must do it at the moment in time that he is digging and that you don't wait for him to stop and then correct him. This will reinforce whatever he is doing with your response, if you wait until he is finished and you scold him then he will get the wrong message.

Instead when you catch him digging try to immediately replace one activity with another, so therefore distract him from his digging and replace it with an enjoyable activity for him to do. If you continually do this it will help modify his behavior and reduce your dogs digging adventures.

Bin Laden’s Garden Of Earthly Frights

What does a resourceful malefactor do when nearly all of the world is searching for him and he has nothing more urgent to do than hide out? Why, what else? He takes up gardening. At least, plants and vegetables can’t reveal his whereabouts. They’re also unlikely to be covert members of the CIA.

And so we join Osama Bin Laden, as he tends the little plot of earth he can call his own, at least, until he is sent off to an unexpectedly sudden meeting with his Allah.

Into the ground he carefully nudges his spade. He examines the divot and does not notice the presence of a surreptitiously planted explosive device. So he reaches into his treasured bag of seeds, bought in a local market by a servant of one of his wives, since neither he nor any of his four subjugated mates can go shopping for fear of being turned in by a checkout clerk in quest of an easy $25 million.

He places a seed caringly in the hole. We won’t say lovingly, because anyone who can order the killing of as many civilians as he did, infidels or not, is unlikely to experience anything akin with that tender emotion. It more likely a perverse affection for his hate for the world – the very sentiment that condemned him to be a spoiled rich kid in the most explosive way.

Now, he drops a sardine into the hole, canned, of course, since he cannot arrange delivery of the fresh finny creatures in his remote location. The oil-soaked remains of the little swimmer from the sea will, he knows, help the plant grow faster – in this case, an olive tree.

He dearly wants the majestic plant to grow as fast as possible, because he would like to witness the fruits of his backyard hobby, and he cannot help but recall that an olive tree usually takes 25 years or so to produce its first tasty oval.

Thinking twice, he adds a second silvery dab of fertilizer, all the faster to make the tardy tree sprout. Even if he evades capture or an unexpectedly zippy flight to eternity, lasting 25 or so more years, given his health, no doubt made even more shaky by the perpetual anxiety he experiences over his life expectancy, is decidedly a long shot.

Now, he covers the sardine-topped seed with handfuls of earth and caringly pats the fertile compost down.

Just then one of his wives comes running from the house.

“Osama, Osama,!” she calls, holding up the hem of her burka so as not to trip and fall into his arms. She knows he’d be upset, because today is not the day he usually makes whoopee with her. He must give his waning physical prowess to one of his other dearly enslaveds.

“What is it?” he asks, feeling his heart thump in his chest like a bowling ball smacking into the headpin.

“There’s a stranger in town!”

Bin Laden stands. “There is?” His throat thickens from tension. “How do you know?”

“How else? The servant I sent shopping for groceries today saw him.”

“Him? It’s a him?”

“That’s what she said.”

“Was he wearing a turban?”

“What does that matter? You know the CIA. If they thought wearing a turban would help them get you, they would all wear them. Even Bush would wear one.”

“You’re right. Did he have a beard?”

“Wouldn’t they all grow beards, too?”

“Hmm, right again. Where did she see him?”

“Standing outside of the supermarket. She said he looked suspicious because he didn’t seem to have any interest in going in. And who hangs around outside of a supermarket unless he’s getting ready to go shopping or waiting for someone to shop with? What should we do?”

“Nothing. The less, the better. Remember what the Prophet said, “He who has lived well has hidden well.”

“I don’t remember reading that in the Koran?”

“It’s not in the Koran. It was said by an infidel named Rene Descartes. But I decided it’s too wise a saying to grant to an unbeliever. So remember, from now on, Mohammed said it.”

“Yes, dear. I like the way you think.”

“Thanks. Now, just go back in the house, and I’ll get back to gardening.”

Then another one of his devoted wives came running out of the house.

“Osama! Osama!" she called. "There’s a stranger at the door.”

He swallowed big time.

“At the door?”

“Yes!”

“What does he want?”

“He asked to speak to the sheik.”

“The sheik? Hey, that’s me! Did he say what he wants?”

“No. What should I tell him?”

“Tell him there is no sheik. You’re a widow.”

“What about me?” asked the first wife to arrive with the day’s most arresting news.

“You, too. You’re all widows.”

“Oh, don’t even say that, Osama!” the first wife wailed. “It makes me think – “

“– What?”

“Never mind,” she replied. “It’s too awful even to imagine.”

Now, there was an unexpected rustling in his garden of earthly frights. His heart jumped way up past his Allah’s Apple. To test if the cause might have been a breeze in the trees, he wet a finger in his mouth and held it up. One side did not grow cooler. He knew the wind had not sounded the alert.

“Who goes there?” he asked, and reached for his AK47, which was propped against a fig tree. He always took the rapid-fire defender with him when he went to garden or anywhere else.

“Hassan,” the voice called back.

“Hassan who?” Bin Laden’s asked.

“Nasrallah.”

“Well, why didn’t you say so?” Bin Laden replied, relaxing. “Come on out.”

His unexpected visitor popped from behind an ample bush, smiling in his usual idiotic way, and removed his disguise, which consisted only of an enormous plastic nose. He didn’t need big black plastic glasses or bushy black eyebrows to go with it, because he already wore such eyeglasses and looked out from under such darkly predictive brows. So he had clipped off those parts of his discount disguise.

“What do you say, baby?” Hassan asked.

“Congratulations!” Bin Laden answered in his forthright way. “That was a great war you waged against Israel!”

“Thanks, old buddy,” Nasrallah replied. "Lost a few of my countryment, but, hey, what's war without death?"

He reached out to hug Bin Laden.

Osama returned the favor, while looking at his wives to show he was a bit uncomfortable with the unaccustomed contact, even from the most recent Muslim fundamentalist to become famous by the usual method of killing civilians, not only a certain number of his perceived enemy, but a far greater number of his own mistaken followers and adulators.

“You’re almost as famous as I am,” Bin Laden conceded.

“Sorry about that,” Nesrallah said. “That’s why I’m here.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m on Israel’s most wanted list.”

“You are?”

“Yeah. Numero uno. And some of the Lebanese people, who realize the cost of my misjudgment, are also hot on my trail. So I figured, Hassan, you want to hide out and live on, there’s only one place to go. Wherever Osama is. This guy is the master evader of capture. Mind if I join you?”

“You mean, your most active days are over?”

“Are yours?”

“I’d rather not think so. I can still send out audiotapes.”

“Guess what?”

“What?”

“I brought a video camera, so now you can upgrade.”

“What do you think of that? For a while now, my right-hand verbal cannonade and death-dealing physician, al-Zawahiri, had our only video cam.”

“Not anymore, good buddy. Hey, by the way, got an extra spade? Since I’ll be here for a while, I might as well dig in.”

“Sure, in the house.”He looked at his wives. “Go get Hassan a spade.”

“Yes, Osama,” the first wife replied, and turned to Nasrallah. “Where are your wives?”

“I was just getting to that. Do you mind if they join me?”

Bin Laden’s willing chattel would never dare an opinion on such a consequential household question and looked to their husband, who couldn’t help shifting his feet before he prevaricated.

“Glad to have them,” he said, “but, you know, the house isn’t that big. If it was, we would attract too much attention.”

“I know,” Hassan agreed. “Don’t worry. We’ll make do. It’s bigger than a bunker.”

“I can’t wait to meet them,” Osama’s first wife volunteered, and turned to the second wife. “Come, let’s go get the spade. I’m sure the men have important things to discuss.”

“All right,” the other wife agreed.

Then the two proudly obedient ladies departed in the direction of the house, slowed a bit by the weight of their unrevealing garments.

Nasrallah turned back to Bin Laden and, extending an index finger, said, “First there was one.”

“Then there were two,” Osama joined in, raising two fingers.“And sometimes al-Zawhiri drops in. So that would make three.”

"Do you think there could be four?” Nasrallah speculated.

“Ahmadinejad when goes on the lam?”

“And Kim Jong-II?” Nasrallah speculated, holding up all the fingers of one hand. “That would makes five. Hey, we’d be halfway to ten!”

Bin Laden wondered, and asked, with a trace of concern, “Is the Korean guy Islamic? As you know, I keep a strictly Islamic household.”

“I don’t know, but at least the name of his country is spelled almost like the Koran. Just take the ‘e’ out of Korea and add an ‘n’ at the end, and there you have it: Koran!”

“Then he can’t be all bad,” Bin Laden said. “Allah and the Prophet would never allow such a close spelling of any nation to the Koran unless the leader was at least a tolerable guy.”

“Right you are.”

One of Bin Laden’s wives returned with a spade for Hassan.

“Thank you,” he said.

“You’re welcome,” she replied, and said to both, “Have fun.”

Then off she went, back to her ancient housewifely duties.

"So tell me about gardening,” Nasrallah asked, holding up his unaccustomed implement. “Where do I start?"

Bin Laden thought for a moment about the intricacies of digging in a garden that might contain an occasional object not the work of nature’s own hand. “How about if you hold the can of sardines while I plant?”

Nasrallah looked at the greasy tin and sniffed the sun-warmed contents. He agreed with a slight show of reluctance and Bin Laden handed it to him.

Hassan couldn’t help counting the slimy residents. He looked up. “Ten.”

“What?”

“Little sardines,” Nasrallah said.

“And soon there will be none,” Bin Laden noted, holding up his trusty bag of seeds.

So a-gardening they went, with a watchful eye and a wary ear, while both found themselves unable to repress a glimmer of the timeless truth that advises us, be careful what kind of garden you plant, because you’re likely to spend a lot of time in it.

Top Ten Outdoor Gardening Tips for Fall

Your garden should be a relaxing, enjoyable place to be in every season. Keeping your outdoor space inviting is easy with these tips for yards and water gardens in the fall.

1. Keep the water in your outdoor fountain or garden pond free of fallen leaves. Not only can leaves and other fallen organic matter decompose in your pond and cause problems with bacteria and algae, they can also clog your pump. Skim leaves off the surface daily and be sure to use an algaecide made for fountain such as No More Algae for Fountains (found at SpecialtyLiving.com).

2. Clean your fountain pump before emptying the water for the winter. This will ensure that any debris inside the pump won’t be left to dry up and clog the inner workings once you’ve emptied the water from your fountain. Remove the cover and pull out anything that may have accumulated inside.

3. Protect your fountain from cracks due to the expansion and contraction of water as it freezes and thaws. Purchase a fountain cover in the appropriate size and cover the fountain from the top to the bottom of the basin (pedestals don’t need to be covered). This will keep precipitation from falling into the basins and causing damage.

4. Prepare your water garden for the upcoming freeze by sinking all hardy perennial aquatics to the deepest area of the pond. This will keep them in the warmest water available and allow them to go dormant for the winter without sustaining damage.

5. If your pond is too shallow to sink your plants over the winter, consider purchasing a de-icer. De-icers heat a small opening in the top of your pond where it would normally freeze over, allowing the release of toxic gases from decomposing organic matter to escape and also oxygenating the water.

6. If you supplement your landscaping or water garden with tropical plants, it’s best to remove them for the winter unless you live in a mild climate. They won’t survive the cold weather, and as they decay they can cause damage to other plants around them. It’s recommended to treat them as annuals and purchase new ones each spring.

7. Don’t cut your perennials down over the winter – leave them standing so they can provide resources for birds. Many plants have attractive foliage and seed pods that offer both food and shelter during the snowy months when both can be difficult for birds to find. Birds need water, also – use a plastic container and replace the water frequently.

8. Mulch around perennials and well-established plants to maintain a uniform soil temperature and add a few extra weeks to the root development of newly planted shrubs and trees.

9. Give your garden a good fall cleanup to prevent disease and insect problems next year. Canker, mildew, fungi and other problem spots in your yard can spread to other plant life if the rotting plant matter is allowed to linger and be spread around by wind and water. Prune dead branches, gather fallen leaves and collect yard waste piles and either burn, bury or compost.

10. Plant spring bulbs in October. Planting tulip, crocus, daffodils and other flower bulbs at this time will give the roots time to get established before warm weather rolls back around. Prepare the soil to ensure that it has good drainage. Soil fertility is also important – work a complete commercial fertilizer into the upper 4 to 6 inches of soil. The depth of the soil above the bulb should be approximately twice the diameter of the bulb.

Selling Your House?

Selling Your House? Simple Gardening Tasks Can Help
When we think about getting a house ready to sell, we often focus on the structure itself. We ask ourselves if the walls need painting, should the carpets be cleaned or replaced, do any of the plumbing fixtures need to be repaired, etc. However, the item that is seen first, by every potential buyer that drives by your house, is your front lawn and garden. Spending some extra time on your landscaping before you list your house with a real estate agent can make a big difference in how long it takes a house to sell.

Think of it this way - would you feel comfortable with the idea of seeing a doctor if all the plants in his waiting room were dead? It sets up some negative emotions, doesn't it? The same thing happens when people drive by a house that is surrounded by dying, weedy grass, overgrown bushes, and cracked sidewalks. Since the impression is on a purely emotional level, it may be difficult for your buyers to overcome.

There's a good example of this problem right now, in my neighborhood. Although houses in my city are selling ast this summer, and they don't stay on the multiple listing service for very long, a 'For Sale by Owner' sign has been in the window of a house down the street for months. The owner lives out of town, and probably purchased the house as a rental. Now that home prices are higher, he's ready to sell, but he can't take care of the yard himself because he lives too far away. He did recently hire someone to cut down the overgrown grass, but I suspect he did so only in response to a complaint from the city authorities.

This attitude on the part of the seller reminds me of that ancient saying "penny-wise, pound foolish".

Fortunately, it doesn't take a whole lot of money to get most yards looking good, and it can make a huge difference in the curb appeal of your house. It does, however, take time - especially if the grass has been neglected for too long. Some regular watering might revive it, but if things have gone too far, you may need to reseed the grass and start over. This might also be true in the back yard, if a large puppy or a team of budding football stars has worn ruts in the grass. The most important thing for the grass is to get it green again, and keep it mowed. If dandelions have taken over, a neighborhood kid might be willing to pull them out, if the price is right.

If bushes along your fence are badly overgrown, they may need a hard pruning. Some ornamental shrubs and small trees can be pruned at almost any time, but others must be approached with more caution. To see exactly how and when your shrubbery can be pruned, do a Google search for the particular type of plant, or find a good book on pruning at your local library. Overgrown Arborvitae growing near the house may need to be removed, as would any other fast-growing shrub that refuses to stay within its allotted space, and which would be nothing but bare sticks if it you cut it back.

If you do need to remove overgrown or dying foundation plantings, they can be replaced with fast-growing annuals or perennials. First dig the soil as deep as you can and add compost and plant food to improve the soil's fertility. Then ask your local nursery for suggestions - they'll be able to show you which plants will grow the fastest and fill in the empty space. If you put out a drip hose and attach a timer, you won't need to do much more than pull an occasional weed to keep it looking nice.

A friend of mine recently sold her house, which was surrounded by a beautiful cottage garden that took her years to build. She knew that most people don't have time to care for so many different plants, and would prefer to simply water and mow the grass - so she made sure to list her house when her garden was at its peak. Even if her buyer has to remove all those flowers because he can't take proper care of them, they still helped to create a positive impression with all that color. Her home, surrounded by masses of color, was on the market for only a few weeks.

You can easily add a few spots of color to your yard without planting a perennial border of creating a cottage garden. One exceptionally easy trick is to buy a large planter that matches the color of your house, fill it with one small shrub from the nursery surrounded by fast-growing annuals, and place it just beside your front door. It doesn't take much time, but it can add that little touch of life that makes your house feel more like "home" to your potential buyers.

Elegant and Easy Outdoor Water Gardening

The element of water brings an unmatched beauty to any outdoor space – movement, color, and ambiance. Water gardens are highly prized for the relaxing sound of the flowing water, and the sense of being at one with nature. While many water gardening enthusiasts spend countless hours and thousands of dollars achieving this serene effect, you can have a water garden in your own outdoor space with minimal time and effort. Water spouts or simple re-circulating pumps paired with watertight containers bring all the benefits of a full-sized water garden into any size space, whether it’s your backyard, a deck or even a balcony.

The first step is to find a suitable container to hold water. This will be the basis of your new mini water garden. Lotus pots (planters with no drainage holes), whiskey barrels, or any kind of container with a wide mouth will work. Recycled wine barrels are a great solution for those who like a rustic look. They’re recommended over any other type of wood, because they’re already watertight and as such, require no liner. They can be found at most garden centers. Japanese hand-carved granite basins can lend a striking Zen look (find them at KineticFountains.com).

Once you’ve chosen your container, make absolutely sure it’s watertight. Carefully check it for holes or cracks. To be absolutely sure, try filling it with water, sitting it on your porch or deck and watching for any leakage. Any holes found can be patched up with plumber’s putty or silicone. If you’ve found a great terracotta pot, spray it with some polyurethane before using as terracotta absorbs water.

Your next step is deciding whether you’d like a simple water garden – just a container filled with water and some aquatic plants – or if you’d like to add a little interest with a water spout or pump. Bamboo water spouts are an excellent choice for use in water gardens – you simply place the pump in the water (make sure it’s resting on the bottom or on a brick or pile of rocks and not dangling), and set the spout up on the side of the container. If you’d like a ‘bubbler’ effect, place the pump at the bottom of the container and make sure the tubing is long enough to reach the surface. Stack rocks around the pump and tubing, so that they’re just above the surface of the water. Position the tubing so it’s mostly hidden by the rocks, and you’ve got instant gurgling water sound.

Now you’re ready to populate your container with some stunning aquatic plant life. Consult the experts at your local garden center for help in choosing plants – the climate where you live and the size container you’ve chosen will dictate which plants will work best. Although water lilies and lotus are beautiful, they’re not recommended for container gardens – they grow much too large. Two or three small potted plants and a few oxygenating floaters will look beautiful and won’t fight each other for space and sunlight.

Small container water gardens are extremely simple to care for. Place it where it will receive 6 hours of sunlight every day at minimum, and top it off with water every few days to make up for evaporation. Once the plants have begun establishing themselves in their new mini ecosystem, you can add a fertilizer tablet made especially for water gardens (ask about them at your local garden center). If you’d like to add fish, it’s best to wait 4-5 weeks after you’ve created your water garden so that the conditions in the water have been allowed to stabilize. Stick with hardy varieties that don’t grow quickly, such as guppies or gambezi, also known as ‘mosquito fish’. Gambezi come with the added benefit of eating mosquito larvae, hence the nickname.

Your new water garden will bring a sense of tranquility and connection with nature to its home in your outdoor space. Place it in an area where you can enjoy its beauty and the soothing sounds of flowing water.

Gardening Gift

You have just completed designing your garden and now you're looking for that perfect finishing touch. What sort of gardening gift could you give yourself or someone you know who loves gardening. The range of gardening gifts span from the whimsical like garden gnomes to the more practical ones like a gardening gift set which is good for beginning gardeners.

With all these gifts to choose from how will you find the perfect gardening gift? With this type of gift you need to think if the person will appreciate a whimsical wind chime, a garden gnome, or a compost tumbler and tea maker.

If your friend is new to gardening then maybe they would appreciate a gardening set. A gardening set that includes a spading fork, a garden trowel, and a hoe to cultivate your soil, a pair of garden shears and a tool for weeding is the perfect gardening gift, even for yourself.

A serious gardener will absolutely love having a sturdy pair of gloves. When you wear the gloves not only do you keep your hands clean, but the gloves can provide protection against thorns and other sharp garden objects.

For a gardener who has back problems using a garden kneeler can take the hassle out of gardening. They might even start using it for other purpose like washing their cars. Whilst a trowel that is ergonomically designed can help support the wrist of anyone with arthritis, it can make digging a pleasure once more.

Every gardener understands the value of putting compost in their gardens. And the best way to get good quality compost is of the home made variety. Unfortunately not everyone has the garden space for a compost heap. The gift of a compost tumbler might not seem to be a great present, but it is an invaluable gardening gift for the avid home gardener.

All gardeners know that to get a thriving crop, the soil in the garden has to be right. How can you find out if your soil is perfect for that vegetable you're planning on growing? Will your herbs thrive in your garden? To answer that all important soil question an electronic soil tester is great gardening gift.

These of course are the practical gardening gifts. The whimsical on the other hand are wind chimes or cheerful garden gnomes. If you're into fantasy then a garden gnome sitting next to your pond will definitely invite the garden fairies in. Of course you should understand that garden gnomes are company loving fellows. Therefore when you go and buy your garden gnome, be sure to invite a few more along just for that fanciful gardening gift.

All in all it does not matter if you're into practical gardening gifts or the whimsical variety. Garden centers and gardening shops stock many different items that can serve as gardening gifts or gardening supplies. The perfect gardening gift is yours to choose.

Indoor Composting and Organic Soil Improvement

Vermiculture:

Maybe you’ve never heard the term vermiculture, if so don’t feel bad, many experienced gardeners are unfamiliar with this organic practice. I think vermiculture is fascinating; simply put it’s the process of composting kitchen waste with earthworms. We’re not talking about common night crawlers, but special varieties of worms such as red worms, and red wigglers.

Okay, I’ll admit to owning an ant farm when I was a kid, but this is so much more practical. Vermiculture, or vermicomposting as its also known is more like beekeeping; yes I’ve given that a try too. But just imagine for a second, you feed the worms your leftover garbage and kitchen scraps. The worms then quickly eat all those leftovers, sparing you the hassles of taking out the garbage.

And here’s the best part, while the composting worms are disposing of your garbage, they’re also producing a terrific organic fertilizer and soil conditioner called earthworm castings. Well, okay… the term earthworm casting is just a nice name for earthworm excrement. I don’t know who thought up the name earthworm castings, but I guess it makes sense if you think it through.

You may have seen worm castings for sale at your local garden center and didn’t realize what you were dealing with, but now you know. Don’t worry, earthworm castings are clean, odorless, and sterile… trust me on this one. You don’t need gloves or a shovel to handle them, and they are wonderful for improving your soil quality and for promoting the growth and health of all your plants.

So you can purchase bags of earthworm castings to use around the garden or if you’re a little more adventurous you can set up an “earthworm farm” and produce your own. The farm is actually just a worm bin that can be set up indoors or outdoors depending on the climate.

Vermicomposting isn’t complicated, but the worms are living creatures, and have certain requirements. For example they don’t tolerate extremely hot living conditions, and they also won’t survive freezing. The worms are pretty healthy eaters, so while eggshells are fine, don’t try slipping any meat, fats, or greasy foods into their diet.

If this sounds a little like having a pet, well it is. Not terribly demanding, but they do require a little of your attention to make sure that things run smoothly. In exchange they’ll be hard at work performing their community service to save the environment and to help you grow a better garden.

Kids love vermicomposting and some schools even include vermiculture as part of the curriculum. For those of you wishing that they had grown up with a worm bin instead of that ant farm, it’s not too late to try one out. You can find plans for building homemade bins or you can purchase fancy multi-level bins over the Internet. And unlike those ant farms, you can have these bins delivered complete with the composting worms.

If you’re up for the challenge and interested in recycling your family’s kitchen waste into a valuable fertilizer and soil conditioner, try your hand at vermiculture. During long winters, it may even help to pass the time until you can get back out into the garden.

Container Gardening

Container Gardening Should Include The Herbal Plant Scented Geraniums

Planting an herbal garden that includes scented geraniums is not common to container gardening. Most gardeners think of scented geraniums as a floral plant, not an herbal plant but the species, called pelargonium, is an herb with many uses. This delightful herb has many different aromas and gorgeous colors to delight your senses. The scented geranium is best used in container gardening for two reasons. One, you can control the soil and moisture, and two you can bring it indoors when a frost is imminent.

The scented geranium was found in Africa in the 1600's and shipped to England where it became most popular. The gardener of King Charles I grew a variety of scented geraniums in the royal greenhouse. The Victorians thought they were geraniums rather than an herbal plant but if you look at their asymmetrical leaves you can see the difference between scented geraniums and regular geraniums.

The scented geranium is truly a herbal plant for all seasons. It grows and has a lovely aroma throughout the spring and summer and when the chilly winds of autumn threaten this sturdy herbal plant will gladly co-exist inside with you. Nothing could be better when container gardening includes scented geranium with their exquisite flowers, lovely scented leaves, and sturdy characteristics for year round enjoyment of your senses.

True to their name scented geraniums come in a multitude of fragrances. Seemly, the favorite is the rose scented geranium but others are gaining popularity quickly. Some of the more robustly planted are the apple scented, peppermint scented, wood, like cedar or balsam, nutmeg and citronella (also know as the mosquito buster.) You can plant a whole container garden with this one type of plant and have a beautiful diversity. Their leaves alone will contrast interestingly to give you a spectacular container garden. The tiny smooth leaves of the nutmeg scented geranium, or Lady Mary, to the large musk scented leaves of the Lady Plymouth.

The rose scented geraniums are gaining popularity for calming and are increasingly used in mediation and for healing purposes. The plant truly releases a delicious rose scent when rubbed against or crushed. Just brush the leaves to release their scent or make a soothing rose geranium tea to help you relax.

There are many culinary uses for the scented geranium to delight your taste buds. Chop up the leaves and mix with your other favorite herbs such as chives or chervil or thyme to make interesting flavored butters or dips and spreads. A really clever way to use the leaves is to line a baking pan when making pies, puddings or cakes to impart a wonderful flavor to your desserts. Use them for desserts, syrups or custards for another unique flavor. You can even make flavored sugar by layer dry, fresh leaves with sugar. Let them sit a few days, remove the leaves and store the sugar in an air tight container. This can be used in teas, baking goods, or as a sugar scrub. They are delightful in baths and infused in water to rinse your hair.

The scented geranium is a great as a room freshener or added to potpourri. Try adding some to your vacuum bag or put them in a mesh bag and add them to your dryer for a new fresh scent for your clothes.

Scented geraniums are grown from cuttings taken from the mother plant. Cut three to four inches just above a leaf. Strip the lower leaves off and place in a rooting medium, such as a mix of sphagnum peat moss. Place your cutting in bright light and keep it moist. When roots have been established it is time to place it in your container garden. Make sure the soil is porous and fast draining.

When the scented geranium is indoors it is necessary to feed it once a week to ensure full leaf growth. Pinching back the plant not only encourages bushy growth but releases a delicious aroma into the air. Keep the soil evenly damp; do not over water them as this will kill them. They can come back from overly dry situations but not wet ones.

Now it is time to add this multi-talented plant to your container garden. Just one word of caution, once you get to know the scented geranium your herbal garden will never be without it.

Copyright © Mary Hanna, All Rights Reserved.

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Does not stop Gardening

Gardening Does Not Need To Stop After Your Autumn Harvest. Even In Winter, You Can

Gardening does not need to stop after your autumn harvest. Even in winter, you can plant herbs and where weather permits winter crops, such as lettuce, cabbage, cauliflower, silver beet and spinach, brussels sprouts, broccoli, broad beans and finally onions and beetroot.

Winter can also be a good time to be planting herbs such as sage and thyme, dill, mint, parsley and chives.

Some gardeners plant lettuce direct into the ground in rows. however you can sprinkle some lettuce seeds in a small area close together and prick out the largest of the lettuce seedlings to sow, this way you can spread your crop over a longer period.

If your ground is not going to be covered three foot deep in snow you could try sowing Arugula, sow direct in rows 10 centimetres apart (3.9in). Arugula is sometimes called Rocket, Roquette or Italian Cress. It has a peppery nut flavour.

You can start harvesting when the leaves are 7 or 8cm long (2.76in to 3.15in), taking just a few leaves at a time. Grow virtually the same as cabbage. Arugula is a cool weather crop, it runs to seed early in hot weather. Harvest in 30 to 60 days.

Broad Beans can be grown in rows, 50CM apart (19.69in), directly, sow seed 20cm apart (7.87in), sow 5 centimeter deep (1.97in),These beans are good for cool climates. Sow while the temperature remains between 5 degrees Celsius to 18 degrees Celsius (41f to 64.4f). You find the short pod type tends to mature later and gives a fatter bean.

harvest in 120 days Plant all of your fruit trees during the winter too. Spray existing fruit trees with a copper-based fungacide as the buds begin to swell.

Winter is also a good time to prune existing fruit and ornamental trees while they are bare. You can also prune grape and berry bushes and vines during Winter.

If you want to plant bare rooted roses, do that in Winter too.

But most of all...have fun and remember a garden can be very forgiving.

4 Lessons In Gardening

Planting, Crop Rotation, Tools, & Clothing

If you're seriously interested in knowing about Gardening, you need to think beyond the basics. This informative article takes a closer look at things you need to know about Gardening.

1. Planting Methods: There are several methods for planting. Choosing any of these methods depends on the vegetable, the size of your garden, and your preference. Three methods of planting, namely, single rows, wide rows, and hills are explained as follows:

A) Single Rows: In this method, seeds are sown in rows or lines that are spaced equal distances apart. The distances between the rows and between the seeds within the rows differ from vegetable to vegetable. If you want the rows to be straight, which gives a pleasant appearance to your garden, stretch a string between two stakes and sow the seeds along it. If you think this is too much work, use a stick to mark a line on the ground and try to make the line as straight as possible. With some practice, you will get it straight.

B) Wide Rows: In wide row planting, seeds are sprinkled at equal spacing in both directions over a wide area. The width of the row varies from 6 to 16 inches. The row's width is limited by your arm's reach to the area in the middle of the row while standing at the edges. We find that wide rows are convenient and productive for peas and beans. In addition to giving high yield per unit area, they cut down on weeds. Wide rows are also good for starting leaf vegetables like lettuce and spinach. When the seedlings emerge, they can be thinned and transplanted elsewhere. Double rows are a special form of wide rows.

C) Hills: In hill planting, 3 to 5 seeds are sown close to each other. They need not be sown on a formed hill, as the name implies. This method is used for planting zucchini and cucumbers.

2. Crop Rotation: Crop rotation is the practice of planting each vegetable in a different location each year. The advantages of crop rotation are:

A) The chances of transmitting diseases and insects to next year's crop are reduced. Specific diseases and insects attack specific vegetables. These diseases and insects move from the plants to the soil, where they winter. If the same vegetable is planted in the same spot the following year, the diseases and insects will emerge from the soil and attack the new plants.

B) Each vegetable absorbs trace amounts of specific minerals from the soil. If the same vegetable is planted in the same spot year after year, the minerals the vegetable needs to grow healthy plants will be depleted, resulting in a poor harvest.

C) The roots of legumes (peas and beans) have bacteria that absorb nitrogen from the air and fix it on the roots of the plants and in the soil. To take advantage of the nitrogen they fix in the soil, the legumes should be followed by a leafy vegetable, such as lettuce and spinach, which needs nitrogen-rich soil. This is one of the techniques organic growers use to grow vegetables without the use of chemical fertilizers. It may be impractical to rotate every crop each year if your garden is small.

I trust that what you've read so far has been informative. The following section should go a long way toward clearing up any uncertainty that may remain.

This problem can be overcome by taking the following measures: (1) choose disease-resistant vegetable varieties, (2) keep your garden clean of debris, and (3) watch for insects and diseases. If a plant becomes infested with insects, pick them by hand; if a plant is infected by a disease, pull it from the ground and discard it.

3. Gardening Tools: Many gardening tools are available. The basic tools you need are a shovel, trowel, steel rake, tomato cages, and water hose or can. The shovel is used to till the soil, mix potting soil, move soil around, and cut the weeds if they grow big. Some gardeners use a fork instead of a shovel to till the soil, but we don't.

The choice is yours. The trowel is used for cultivating the weeds, transplanting the seedlings, mixing soil or fertilizers, and filling containers with soil. The steel rake is used to grade the soil and to compact the soil over the seeds. Tomato cages are essential for supporting tomato plants. You can also use them to support running plants such as cucumbers and peas. Without them the plants will fall on the ground and their fruit will get into contact with the soil and rot. A hose or a can is used to water the plants in the garden and containers.

4. Proper Gardening Clothing: In the course of gardening, your footwear and clothes are likely to be soiled. You walk on dirt or mud, your clothes get in contact with plant leaves and stems, and your hands are soiled. You are also exposed to the sun. Your shoes collect mud and will soil the floor if you walk directly into the house. Therefore, you should have a pair of old shoes set aside for gardening. Put them on before going into the garden and take them off before entering the house. Leave them in the garage or put them in a bag until you use them again.

Also, have special clothes for the garden. If you don't, your ordinary clothes will be soiled no matter how careful you are. To protect your hands and fingernails from collecting dirt, use a good pair of gloves. Some are washable and can be reused.

Summer Gardening Tips

Don't be afraid to trim those flowering shrubs and trees that need it. Failure to prune is probably the biggest gardening mistake a person can make. I spent 20 years landscaping homes and businesses, and I watched people make the investment in my services, then they failed to prune when the plants needed it, and before you know it their landscape looked terrible.

If you make a mistake pruning, don't worry about it. It's like a bad haircut, it will grow out. Of course use common sense and read the previous articles that I've written on pruning.

Along with summertime comes high humidity. High humidity can cause a lot of problems with the plants in your garden and around your house. One of the simple things you can do is don't water just before dark. Make sure your plants are nice and dry when you tuck them in for the night and you can cut down on the chance of fungus being a problem.

One of the more common fungi that I get asked about a lot is powdery mildew. This appears as a white film on the leaves of ornamental plants. Dogwoods and Purple Sandcherry are often the victim of powdery mildew. Powdery mildew isn't extremely harmful to the plants, it's just that the foliage is damaged, and little growing takes place once it sets in. Your local garden center will have a general fungicide you can spray if you'd like to try and control it. Usually once the plant defoliates in the fall the plant is back to normal.

If you have Perennial Rye Grass in your lawn, and you probably do if you're in the north, you must be careful not to leave your grass wet at night. There is a fungus known as Pythium Blight that appears in very humid conditions. This fungus attacks and kills perennial rye grasses. Here in the north most of our lawns are a blend of fescues, perennial ryes, and Kentucky Blue Grass.

If you have problems with Pythium blight you will lose the perennial rye grass in large areas of your lawn, and even though the other grasses will still be there and fill in, your lawn will have areas that are much darker green than the rest of the lawn because you will then have concentrations of Kentucky Blue Grass.

You can see this fungus in the early morning. It looks like white cotton candy laying on top of your lawn. It usually appears along walks and driveways where the soil is wet if you have been watering. To prevent Pythium blight water as early in the day as possible.

Another nasty little blight that likes summertime is Fire Blight. Fire Blight attacks ornamentals, especially Apple trees, Crabapple trees, Cotoneasters, and Pyracantha. You know you have Fire Blight when a branch on one of your plants dies and turns almost red. The leaves usually hang on but turn reddish brown. The damage usually starts out near the end of the branch and works its way toward the main stem of the plant. There is little you can do except prune out the affected branch, cutting it as far back as possible.

Fire Blight is very contagious to plants so you should burn the branches you prune out. You should also dip or wash your pruning shears in rubbing alcohol after each cut to keep from spreading this deadly fungus.

Unfortunately, I've got one more summertime culprit to warn you about. It's a handy little fungus that grows in mulch. Actually there are all kinds of fungi that tend to grow in mulches, and most of them are really disgusting looking. But this little gem is unique in the fact that as it grows it tends to swell. Then somehow it manages to explode, and it will spatter your house with tiny brown specks. The experts have appropriately named this one “Shotgun Fungus”. Isn't that a cute name?

These tiny little brown specks will fly as high as eight feet into the air, and once they stick to your house or windows, they stick like glue. I know that right now there are people hollering across the house at their spouse, “Hey, remember those brown specks all over the house? I know what they are. It's from the mulch!” Tell me I'm wrong, but I know I'm not.

A lot of people are victims of this nasty little fungus, but they don't know it. All they know is that there are tiny brown specks on the house that look like paint. So far they have blamed everything from spiders to aliens.

There's not a lot you can do to prevent this fungus. I have found that if you keep the mulch loose so air can circulate it is less likely to grow fungi. Don't just keep adding layer after layer to the mulch around your house. You should skip at least every other year and just loosen the mulch you already have down. If you loosen it and then rake it flat it will look like you've just mulched. Mulch is great, just don't let it get packed down hard. Loosen it up at least once a year.

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Terrace Gardening And Landscaping Ideas

Terraces present wonderful possibilities in the garden. They are outdoor living rooms during good weather and form a transition from the outdoors to the indoors throughout the year.

The terrace may be either at ground level, below ground level, or raised above it. The simplest type is ground level, which requires only the grading we have indicated. There is a wide choice of flooring materials to use. One may use cement, poured and levelled with a large board, but in maintaining the drainage grade or including shallow drainage paths, smooth turf may be used, in which case the preparation will be the same as for other lawn areas and various other types of bases.

The use of flagstones is made simple by applying a load of sand or gravel to the subsoil and digging the flagstones into the sand or gravel. The niches between the stones can be dug out and filled with top-soil and grass or other cover planted between them. This gives a very pleasing effect.

Hollow clay building tiles can be split and laid as units in the terrace floor, their rough edges in the soil. Another good surfacing material is "exposed aggregate," which is free from glare because of its rough finish. For this type of surface, build a form of 2 x 4's. Pour the flooring in squares, one square at a time, and level with a straight board. The material used is a mixture of cement, sharp sand and crushed rock or pebbles.

Redwood or cypress blocks may also be used for terrace floors and are very attractive, although somewhat less durable than stone or brick. You can buy the blocks cut to size and lay them directly in a bed of sand, which in turn has been laid on compacted gravel or cinder. Un-mortared brick, laid in a pattern, on 2 to 4 inches of well-tamped sand, with loose sand in the crevices for grass, makes a hardy and simple-to-construct terrace floor. The bricks may be laid flat or on end, and to keep them from spreading, drive an angle iron against the corners. Use a pattern that follows the lines of your terrace.

The Sunken Terrace Gardening

A sunken terrace is one which is below ground level. It can be very attractive, and it does give a feeling of coolness on a humid day or a hot night. The sunken terrace requires a retaining wall to prevent soil from continually eroding into it, and also to maintain the topsoil of the surrounding garden. The subsoil must be dug to a depth of about 5 or 6 inches below the level you wish to attain with the terrace itself. The use of sand or gravel as a base is of importance. The top treatment can follow your own dictates.

The Raised Terrace Gardening

The raised terrace is generally not fully raised, but starts at the house level and is raised at its outer edge. Again, a retaining wall is called for. The principle problem with the raised terrace is levelling. Once this is accomplished, and the retaining wall built, construction follows the same procedure as in any other case. Drainage is supplied either by a central drain, going into a tile line, or by underground piping through the retaining wall.

Hydroponics Gardening System

Using Hydrogen Peroxide in your Hydroponics Gardening System

There are no doubts about the benefits of using hydrogen peroxide properly in a hydroponics system. This becomes especially true if your nutrient reservoir is kept above 72 degrees. Warm water holds less dissolved oxygen, and therefore encourages the growth of more viruses, fungi, and anaerobic bacteria. Hydrogen peroxide adds oxygen to you water and cleans the water of pathanogens. Benefits include healthier root systems, increased nutrient uptake, thicker stems, and bigger leaves.

One expert claims it should be used on all soil gardens as well as in hydroponics sytems. Knowing as much as I do about beneficial fungus and micro-organisms and the benefits they provide to living plants, I am shy in taking this advice. However, when this first line of defense fails and plants become sick I often resort to using hydrogen peroxide treatments on my soil grown plants.

The chemical formula of hydrogen peroxide is H2O2. You may notice it is simply water with an extra oxygen atom. In fact, as hydrogen peroxide breaks down in a solution the result is oxygen and water. Its application helps deliver oxygen to over watered plant roots and helps to sterilize the growing media by killing harmful anaerobic (not oxygen compatible) bacteria and pathanogens that cause disease. This includes bacterial wilt, pythium fungi, fusarium fungi, and others.

I avoid using the common 3% hydrogen peroxide you normally find at drug stores. This is because such low percentage solutions are unstable, and chemicals are added to the peroxide to keep it from breaking down before it can be used. I did a little research because I did not know what chemicals were used for this, or if the plants uptake these chemicals, or if there was a health risk associated with any of these stabilizing chemicals.

Hydrogen peroxide is usually stabilized with acetanilide. Acetanilide is a synthetic compound that was first used for its fever reduction and pain killing properties in the late Nineteenth Century. For many years it was utilized as an alternative to aspirin to treat various ailments, but large-scale medical use stopped when the toxic side effects of consuming acetanilide became apparent. This was enough to make up my mind to use 35% hydrogen peroxide instead.

Firstly, 35% peroxide is caustic and should be treated with the same caution as a strong acid. 35% strength hydrogen peroxide should be readily available at any quality hydroponics supply shop. The stronger concentrations do not use the added stabilizers.

The recommended dosage is to add 2-3 ml to each gallon of water, however, I use 5 ml per gallon and have never had any problems. At every nutrient change treat your fresh water with hydrogen peroxide. The general idea is to let the hydroponics sytem circulate the hydrogen peroxide solution for about a half hour to let the peroxide work against pathogens and to let the solution stabilize before adding your nutrients.

The beneficial effects of using hydrogen peroxide last about 4 days. There are some gardeners who add a little peroxide to their nutrient reservoirs every 5 days in between nutrient changes. If you decide to do this, stick to the guidelines and always make sure your solution is thoroughly mixed before exposing your plants roots to it. Another option is to top off your nutrient reservoir with peroxide treated water whenever it is low.

Hard-Times Gardening – Sustainable Without Fertilizers

I teach the Mittleider Method of vegetable gardening. It’s often called better than organic gardening, because we use only natural mineral nutrients, and eliminate weeds and pests without pesticides and herbicides. In addition, virtually nothing is left to chance – much different from those who depend on the unknown composition of manure and compost as their only source of food for their gardens.

I teach the Mittleider Method of vegetable gardening. It’s often called better than organic gardening, because we use only natural mineral nutrients, and eliminate weeds and pests without pesticides and herbicides. In addition, virtually nothing is left to chance – much different from those who depend on the unknown composition of manure and compost as their only source of food for their gardens.

I’m asked occasionally if the Mittleider gardening method is sustainable in the long run, “since it seems to be based on the availability of modern day fertilizers.” Since some folks feel that today’s fertilizers may not always be available in the future, how viable is this system for ongoing sustainability in the long run?

First, the Mittleider method is NOT dependent on commercial fertilizers for viability. Our experience around the world for over 40 years, however, is that everywhere we have been - including several countries in Africa, Armenia, Madagascar, Papua New Guinea, Russia, and 23 others - fertilizers have always been available.

The careful use of natural mineral fertilizers increases a family's gardening yield many times - sometimes as much as 10 times what they were growing without them. This is what has allowed America to change from one person feeding 4 or 5, to one person feeding 100 other people. So why would we NOT use them?? And why would we not want to teach people in the developing countries to use them - unless perhaps we WANT them to stay in the 19th century?

We recommend people obtain enough natural mineral fertilizers and seed (a #10 can of 15 varieties of heirloom seeds is available at www.growfood.com) for at least one extra year's garden. Mineral Fertilizers keep almost indefinitely, and they cost very little, compared to the yield they produce. Small storable packages of micro-nutrients are also available at www.growfood.com.

Here’s how you can grow a productive and healthy garden using manure tea. Get a large burlap bag and a 55-gallon barrel. Find cow or horse manure (chicken or turkey is twice as hot, so less will be needed), and fill the bag 2/3's full. Place the bag in the barrel and fill it with water. Let the manure "tea" soak or "steep" for 24 hours, then use the tea to water your vegetable plants.

Replace the bag of manure in the barrel and let steep for 48 hours. Use the tea, then dump the spent manure out and dig into an unused portion of the garden - it has almost no nutrient value, but can improve soil tilth.

Remember to plant your plants a little further apart when using this method, because they will be competing for less available nutrition. In addition, every watering should be with the manure tea for your plants to be healthy and thrive. You should expect to grow a smaller garden, and spend some time finding manure.

If manure just isn't available, consider saving kitchen scraps and human waste. Many countries do it all the time, so it's not the end of the world. And all clean, healthy plant residue should be saved and properly composted for re-use in the garden - again preferably as manure tea.

The Food For Everyone foundation teaches the Mittleider method of organic gardening. Know as the poor mans hydroponics you can increase your yields five to ten times. Tomatoes, vegetables, herbs, berries you name it these nutrients will produce the best results.

I’m asked occasionally if the Mittleider gardening method is sustainable in the long run, “since it seems to be based on the availability of modern day fertilizers.” Since some folks feel that today’s fertilizers may not always be available in the future, how viable is this system for ongoing sustainability in the long run?

First, the Mittleider method is NOT dependent on commercial fertilizers for viability. Our experience around the world for over 40 years, however, is that everywhere we have been - including several countries in Africa, Armenia, Madagascar, Papua New Guinea, Russia, and 23 others - fertilizers have always been available.

The careful use of natural mineral fertilizers increases a family's gardening yield many times - sometimes as much as 10 times what they were growing without them. This is what has allowed America to change from one person feeding 4 or 5, to one person feeding 100 other people. So why would we NOT use them?? And why would we not want to teach people in the developing countries to use them - unless perhaps we WANT them to stay in the 19th century?

We recommend people obtain enough natural mineral fertilizers and seed (a #10 can of 15 varieties of heirloom seeds is available at www.growfood.com) for at least one extra year's garden. Mineral Fertilizers keep almost indefinitely, and they cost very little, compared to the yield they produce. Small storable packages of micro-nutrients are also available at www.growfood.com.

Here’s how you can grow a productive and healthy garden using manure tea. Get a large burlap bag and a 55-gallon barrel. Find cow or horse manure (chicken or turkey is twice as hot, so less will be needed), and fill the bag 2/3's full. Place the bag in the barrel and fill it with water. Let the manure "tea" soak or "steep" for 24 hours, then use the tea to water your vegetable plants.

Replace the bag of manure in the barrel and let steep for 48 hours. Use the tea, then dump the spent manure out and dig into an unused portion of the garden - it has almost no nutrient value, but can improve soil tilth.

Remember to plant your plants a little further apart when using this method, because they will be competing for less available nutrition. In addition, every watering should be with the manure tea for your plants to be healthy and thrive. You should expect to grow a smaller garden, and spend some time finding manure.

If manure just isn't available, consider saving kitchen scraps and human waste. Many countries do it all the time, so it's not the end of the world. And all clean, healthy plant residue should be saved and properly composted for re-use in the garden - again preferably as manure tea.

The Food For Everyone foundation teaches the Mittleider method of organic gardening. Know as the poor mans hydroponics you can increase your yields five to ten times. Tomatoes, vegetables, herbs, berries you name it these nutrients will produce the best results.

4 Gardening Lessons Revealed

Planting Methods, Tools, Crop Rotation & Clothing

1. Planting Methods: There are several methods for planting.

Picking any of these methods depends on the vegetable, the size of your garden, and your fondness. Three methods of planting, namely, single rows, wide rows, and hills are clarified as follows:

A) Single Rows: In this method, seeds are sown in rows or lines that are spaced equal distances apart. The distances between the rows and between the seeds within the rows differ from vegetable to vegetable. If you want the rows to be straight, which gives a pleasant appearance to your garden, stretch a string between two stakes and sow the seeds along it. If you think this is too much work, use a stick to mark a line on the ground and try to make the line as straight as possible. With some training, you will get it straight.

B) Wide Rows: In wide row planting, seeds are sprinkled at equal spacing in both directions over a wide area. The width of the row varies from 6 to 16 inches. The row's width is limited by your arm's reach to the area in the middle of the row while standing at the edges. We find that wide rows are convenient and productive for peas and beans. In addition to giving high yield per unit area, they cut down on weeds. Wide rows are also good for starting leaf vegetables like lettuce and spinach. When the seedlings emerge, they can be thinned and transplanted elsewhere. Double rows are a special form of wide rows.

C) Hills: In hill planting, 3 to 5 seeds are sown close to each other. They need not be sown on a formed hill, as the name implies.

This method is used for example when planting zucchini and cucumbers.

2. Gardening Tools: There are many gardening tools available on the market today. The basic tools you'll need are a shovel, trowel, steel rake, tomato cages, and a water hose or can. The shovel is used to till the soil, mix potting soil, move soil around, and cut the weeds if they grow big. Some gardeners use a fork instead of a shovel to till the soil, but we don't.

The choice is yours. The trowel is used for cultivating the weeds, transplanting the seedlings, mixing soil or fertilizers, and filling containers with soil. The steel rake is used to grade the soil and to compact the soil over the seeds. Tomato cages are indispensable for supporting tomato plants. You can also use them to support running plants such as cucumbers and peas. Without them the plants will collapse on the ground and their fruit will get into contact with the soil and eventually decay. A hose or a can is used to water the plants in the garden and within containers.

3. Crop Rotation: Crop rotation is the practice of planting each vegetable in a different location each year. The advantages of crop rotation are:

A) The chances of transmitting diseases and insects to next year's crop are very much reduced. Certain diseases and insects attack certain vegetables. These diseases and insects move from the plants to the soil, where they winter. If the same vegetable is planted in the same spot the following year, the diseases and insects will surface from the soil and attack the new plants once again.

B) Each vegetable absorbs trace amounts of specific minerals from the soil. If the same vegetable is planted in the same spot year after year, the minerals the vegetable needs to grow healthy plants will be depleted, resulting in a meagre harvest.

C) The roots of legumes (peas and beans) have bacteria that soak up nitrogen from the air and fix it on the roots of the plants and in the soil. To take advantage of the nitrogen they fix in the soil, the legumes should be followed by a leafy vegetable, such as lettuce and or spinach, which both need nitrogen-rich soil. This is one of the techniques organic growers use to grow vegetables without the use of chemical fertilizers. It may be impractical to rotate every crop each year if your garden is small.

This difficulty can be overcome by taking the following measures:

(1) choose disease-resistant vegetable varieties, (2) keep your garden clean of rubbish, and (3) watch for insects and diseases. If a plant becomes teeming with insects, pick them by hand; if a plant is infected by a disease, pull it from the ground and dispose of it.

4. Proper Gardening Clothing: In the course of gardening, your footwear and clothes are likely to be soiled. You walk on dirt and or mud, your clothes make contact with plant leaves and stems, and your hands are soiled. You are also exposed to the sun. Your shoes accumulate mud and will soil the floor if you walk directly into the house. Therefore, you should have a pair of aged shoes set aside for gardening. Put them on before going into the garden and take them off before entering the house. Leave them in the garage or put them in a bag until you use them again.

Also, have special clothes for the garden. If you don't, your ordinary clothes will be soiled no matter how careful you are. To protect your hands and fingernails from collecting dirt, use a good pair of garden gloves. Some are washable and can be reused again and again...

Please feel free to forward a copy of the "Gardening Online Newsletter" to any of your friends and associates.

Happy Gardening,