I have a tiny backyard (basically a patio with about 1" of sod perimeter). I have one of those metal tubs that are sometimes used to bathe dogs in out of doors. Does anyone have any ideas as to how to use this tub to start a teensy tiny little water garden?

Also, does anyone have any tips for creative gardening? I have a 6ft solid privacy fence that encloses my backyard. I already have flowers in a wagon (with drain holes) and pots of tomatoes and peppers and marigolds etc. I’m trying to keep everything mostly potted since the ground in my yard doesn’t drain well and it mostly clay.

Thanks!!!

PS I live in hot sultty humid ga!

I am setting up 2 water garden barrels and would like to know how to circulate the water between them.
I will be adding submerged and deep water plants and eventually a couple of gold fish. I want water to trickle from one barrel to other, how do I do this?

Rose bush pruning is an important element of your rose care routine. But there are probably as many opinions on how to go about pruning as there are types of roses that require it.

Rose growing experts have their favorite “tried and tested” methods, but this is for those who don’t know where to start. As your confidence grows you will modify these techniques and develop some new ones of your own.

Rose pruning can be easier than you’re dreading. In fact, there are 4 basic rules and a couple of common sense ones. If you keep these basic rules in mind every time you pick up your rose rose pruning shears , you’ll be rewarded with gorgeous rose bushes that reflect the care that you put into them.

The 4 Basic Rules

1. Always keep the middle of your bushes free of growth. This denies insects a place to live, and allows good air circulation helping to keep down fungal infection.

2. Always remove any dead or decayed growth. This keeps your roses looking better and again, keeps insects away.

3. Shape your rose bushes as they grow. This transforms your bushes from wild and messy to precise and proper like all good roses.

4. Remove crossing branches to promote strong growth.

A Couple Of Quick Rules

Always use sharp pruning shears. And clean your shears afterwards to remove any disease or fungus.

Seal the cuts you’ve made to keep out disease. Just use regular white PVA glue, which works fine and is a lot cheaper than specialist products.

Different Types Of Rose Bush Pruning

Hard Pruning – cut canes back to three or four buds from the base. This results in strong canes of about 4 to 5 inches in length. Do not use hard pruning with established bushes because they may not regrow. The only exception is as a last-ditch effort to revive sick or neglected bushes. This technique is best with grandiflora, new hybrid tea, and floribunda roses.

Moderate Pruning – cut strong stems back to approximately half of their length. Weaker stems may be cut back even more. This technique works fine with established gardens of hybrid teas, floribundas, grandifloras, and tree roses .

Light Pruning – Cut the canes back to around 2/3 of their length. Any leftover stems can be lightly trimmed back. Light pruning is not generally recommended for most bushes as it tends to produce early blooms and poorly developed flowers. Use this technique only if other types of rose bush pruning are not working and the bush looks bad to begin with.

For more gardening tips and information click now to learn about rose gardening .

I am trying to decide how to set up a large tub of water for a water garden and what to plant in it that is companionable.

Container growing is a popular way to grow many vegetables, the majority of herbs and some fruits too, particularlyfor the organic gardener . This is particularly right if you have limited outside space or your soil conditions and or weather are not ideal for growing vegetables and fruit in the garden usually.

If you are a student to gardening or need to advance your grand children , container growing is a easy place to start . Seeing those first plants rise from the surface is both fun and rewarding and for those who are unable to or cannot dig a garden, an easy way to raise your own organic food .

This simple way of growing is cheap any pot or vessel is suitable. Providing it has a whole in the bottom for drainage, which is very significant or your plants will get waterlogged and die. A bigger container is better , particularly for growing bigger vegetable or fruits. Before you do anything make sure the container is well scrubbed and washed particually if it has been used before , pests and disease will kill your young planting so take extra care.

With Container Planting you can get a head start from the usual planting season outside and without the added expense of a greenhouse or cold frame. Sow your seeds in the warm indoors in early springtime and transfer them out easily as the weather gets warmer , during the day at first, taking them in at night when frost is at risk.

Always use a fresh organic compost and soil mixture, do not be tempted to skimp and use existent soil from an old container that has been used before. It is improbable to have any useful nutrients left to help your new plants grow, and will almost for sure contain pest or diseases to. After planting feed with a good organic fertilizer on a regular basis to ensure you get the best harvest.

When starting out with Container Growing small crops are best , salad leaves, lettuce, herbs and strawberries grow well. Organic tomatoes and peppers are also worth growing along with some fruits which will do well on a bright balcony or terrace. Try growing the foods that you and your family enjoy most, it will make the whole experience that more rewarding and worthwhile especially for your kids .

When growing fast maturing produce like lettuce or salad leaves, it is okay to grow something else in the same compost later, but not from the same family for example not salad afer salad lettuce after lettuce. Just pick out the roots and debris add a little more soil and sow your next crop, ideally something like spring onion or dwarf beans after lettuce.

Since container growing conditions are very different from those found outside in a normal kitchen garden, wherever crops grow freely in the soil , a different regime is required in order to succeed. The way you grow your crops will also depend on weather they are a seasonal planting or something you reckon to grow on such as a small fruit tree like a fig tree or similar that will do well in a container .

Maintaining your container crops watered is vital to ensure a copious crop and healthy plants, containers plants will quickly use up water especially in hot weather and will need a never-ending supply. If your planning a holiday makes sure a friend is prepared to take over the watering or you will return to a garden with little living .

When you are growing your own organic plants  fruit and vegetable in Pots you know where it has come from, nothing is fresher than picking it straight from the plant and eating it. No chemicals or pesticides have been used, it is as fresh and healthy as nature intended. Nothing is more worthwhile than growing your own vegetables it is something you will love and a great hobby for the whole family and something that will also save you cash too!

Fine Gardening is a magazine published by The Taunton Press. Many amateur and hobbyist gardeners consider it a source of inspiration and constantly refer to it for new ideas and innovative tips. Fine Gardening provides a very large number of articles on very different topics related to gardening, such as:

-reviews for equipments and tools;
-basics of garden design;
-professional advice for the improvement of the garden;
-tips for gardening challenges;
-detailed information on some plant species;
-help to deal with plant disease and parasites and much more;
-reviews for wooden garden furniture;
-reviews for aluminum garden furniture ;

The authors that publish in Fine Gardening are experts in their craft, therefore you can learn new things directly from professionals. For urgent questions you can contact them online or by mail. The very purpose of the magazine is not to entertain but to help people improve knowledge and skills.

All the ads in Fine Gardening are related to gardening, as the magazine will not publish other advertisements. Thus, you can find about what is new in the business and learn something useful to your business, hobby or occupation. In terms of price, Fine Gardening is a bit expensive than other publications at the newsstand but every page is worth the price.

Fine Gardening can also be accessed and read online, on a more than comprehensive web site. Thus, you can read about trees, shrubs, bulbs, annuals and perennials, grasses and vines. In fact, you could start working on your garden even if you have never done gardening before by simply relying on the information available with the official web page of Fine Gardening.

Discover how to prepare ground covers, how to make beds and borders and how to deal with composting, fertilizing and decorating. Whether you want to achieve something showy or you just want to find out about lawn care, Fine Gardening will be of great help.

Design, decorations and garden structures also receive great support in the magazine. Fine Gardening can give you some very daring ideas about modern landscaping. It is a fresh, well documented and constantly updated source of information that any gardener can refer to. If you have a doubt or need some clarifications, Fine Gardening should be your main stop in any Google search. Enjoy it!

Enjoying a handful of plump, juicy strawberries grown in your very own backyard is a real treat.  Growing strawberries takes a little more care than some other popular fruits such as rhubarb and tomatoes, but with a few tips, even the beginning gardener can be successful at it.

Types of Plants

There are three basic types of strawberry plants that can be grown in northern gardens.  June-bearing produce a large crop in late spring; ever-bearing produce one crop in late spring and one in early fall; and day-neutral strawberry plants produce fruit throughout the season, however the overall production is generally less than the June-bearing variety.

You should work with your local nursery to choose a cultivar that is appropriate for your area, or check the USDA gardening zone and order plants online.

Location

Strawberry plants thrive in an area that receives 8 or more hours of full sun per day.  Less sun and the plants will still produce berries, however there won’t be as many, nor will they be as large.  The soil should be well-drained and free from soil-borne diseases so you’ll want to choose an area that was not recently used to grow tomatoes, eggplant, potatoes, or peppers.

Soil should be slightly acidic (pH between 5-6).  A raised bed garden is a great choice for growing strawberries, as it provides proper drainage and the soil can be amended as needed.

Planting

When planting strawberries in a raised bed garden, you can use the hill method, rather than the  matted, or space matted system.

When using the hill method, trim off the runners from each plant and space them in rows 12″ apart.  If using the matted or space matted system, plant them in rows 3 feet apart, spacing each plant 12″ from the next.  The matted system requires no trimming of runners.  However the space matted system requires that you trim the majority of the runners and affix them so that they are spaced 12″ apart from other plants.

When planting, trim away any dead roots and plant in a hole deep enough to cover the root system, but leave the top half of the crown of the plant above the soil level.  Water well and pack the soil tightly around the middle of the crown.

Care and Harvest

The first year, blossoms should be removed from June-bearing plants to encourage growth of the root system and runners.  This will produce a more abundant crop of berries the following year. Ever-bearing and day-neutral plants should have their blossoms removed up until the end of June for fruit production in early to late fall.

Feeding

To encourage an abundance of fruit, strawberry plants need to be watered regularly, but should never sit in water.  They should also be well fertilized.  If you prefer an organic fertilizer, bone meal and blood meal work well and should be applied monthly throughout the growing season.  A regular fertilizer of 10-10-10 at the beginning of the season is another option.

Keeping Pests Away

Strawberry plants are not prone to a lot of disease.  However  you may want to choose a variety that is certified to be resistant to Verticillium Wilt, since plants that are infected with this must be destroyed.

To protect plants from birds, the strawberries can be covered with bird netting. If rabbits and deer are prevalent in your area, you may also want to install a wire mesh fence around the perimeter of your strawberry patch to keep them from nibbling (or completely destroying) the plants.

Winterizing

At the end of the season, plants should be trimmed of dead foliage and plants should be thinned if runners were allowed to spread. Keep the strawberries well watered until the ground freezes and then cover with mulch to protect them during the winter months.

If proper care is given, you may enjoy an abundance of fresh strawberries for 3-4 years before replacing the plants with fresh stock.

What is organic gardening?

Organic gardening brings the principles of organic agriculture to your garden. This involves matters such as how soil is built, how soil is conserved, and how pests are managed. From a big picture point of view, organic gardening involves working in cooperation with nature.  It involves viewing your garden as part of nature as a whole.

In simple terms, organic gardening means that you grow your garden without using synthetic products or chemicals such as those used in pesticides and fertilizers. You would use sensible methods to replenish the soil like feeding the soil with composted plants, or rotating the plants that are planted in a given area to allow the soil to get enriched.

Creating and maintaining an organic garden can be fun and satisfying.

Why is the soil so important?

The soil needs to be fed and nourish, so that it can nourish our plants in turn. This simple, common sense idea is a core principle in organic gardening.

You can encounter types of soil in a garden.  Clay soil is rich in nutrients and holds water better, but the soil can sometimes hold the water too well and not let enough air in. Sandy soil, on the other hand drains water well, but is usually low in nutrients. The idea, in either case, is to add some organic matter to improve the soil’s nutrient content and texture so it will support plant growth better.

How can you eliminate pests without chemicals?

If you are an organic gardener, does it means that you have to live with pests in your garden?  That certainly seems to be a common question in the minds of gardeners unfamiliar with the tenets and methods of organic gardening.

Firstly, the gardener needs to remain diligent in watching over the plants in his garden, and keeping an eye on their health before matters are real bad. Secondly, the gardener has to adopt the mindset of cooperating with nature. Thirdly, the gardener has to become more knowledgeable about the specific issues they face and simple, and natural options that may be there to solve them.

Sometimes, with pest control, if you know the exact nature of your pest problem, you may not need to do anything at all because the invader’s time in your garden may be strictly temporary, and they’ll be gone at the end of the season forever. It is not necessary to be trigger-ready to kill the pests all the time, with this approach.

Another example, with pest control, is the use of friendly insects that would, in turn prey on the insects afflicting your plants.  This is an example of using a method consistent with nature itself, where there is a natural food chain of insects that feed off other insects. Ladybugs love to eat aphids. Birds will eat grubs.

Another safe, effective and natural method is to use physical barriers like sticky traps to catch flying insects. Many safe methods like this are there in the toolset of the organic gardener.

Here are some commonly used techniques to keep your garden thriving, organically:

• Allow for some pest damage. i.e. Don’t set the target to be 100% pest free.
• Select plants carefully. Choose varieties that are disease resistant.
• Use smart planting of companion crops that can discourage pests naturally
• Rotate crops from year to year to disrupt pest reproduction cycles
• Use row covers to protect plants during pest migrations

Becoming aware of methods like these will empower the gardener make wise choices in dealing with pests in the garden.

How can you enrich the soil without fertilizers?

There are many ways to have nutrient-rich soil, without resorting to chemical fertilizers.

You can use “green manure”. Green manure is a type of crop that is grown for a specific period, with the sole purpose of adding nutrients and organic matter to the soil. Leguminous green manures like clover and vetch fix the soil’s nitrogen content in a manner that plants can use. Other green manure crops can help increase the organic matter in the soil. Some cover crops behave as natural suppressants of weeds while preventing soil erosion and compaction at the same time. Oat, Rye, Fava Beans, Clover, Mustard, Fenugreek etc. are all popular green manures.

You can use “compost”. Compost is a decomposed combination of plants, animal and other organic materials that is rich, black soil. As an additive to the soil, compost provides a rich growing medium and nutrients for plants.You can make compost yourself by using vegetable, food and other organic waste materials from your home. Compose is natural fertilizer for plants, and there are many methods and materials available for preparing compost.

You can use “mulching”. Much is a protective ground cover placed over the soil to help it retain its moisture, and suppress weed growth. Mulches made from organic materials also provide nutrients to the soil as the cover decays.

Summary

As an organic gardener, you work in synch with nature, and adopting nature-friendly ways to prepare your soil, nourish your soil and keep it safe and healthy. All this without ever having to resort to polluting, dangerous and toxic chemicals!

There are plenty of resources available online that you can avail by using this guide to the best Web resources on organic gardening.

For other gardening resources, please consult this gardening guide.

If you maintain your lawn in good order it can certainly add to the localise’s curb appeal and cater you with an outdoors position that all you family and friends can enjoy. Yet as with many things today a lot of us simply do not have the time to spend on keeping their lawns in good order because there are other things that need to be done. If you are someone faced with this properly then there are zero turn lawn mower s and grass catchers available that can help you with getting this task completed more quick .

So just why should one image buying a zero turn lawn mower and grass catchers rather than the other kinds available? nether we take a look at some of the bring in s to be gained from this type of mower.

Benefit 1 – Compared to other kinds of mowers if you have one of these types you will find that you don’t need to keep going back over the lawn to trip or recut areas. So with say a John Deere lawn mower of this type the cut of the grass is much more even creating a better look to it.

Benefit 2 – When you use this type of mower you will find that the amount of time you need to spend on cutting the lawn is far less. As mentioned above with other types of lawn mowers including say a rotary lawn mower you will need to spend time going back over it. As well as taking less time to cut the grass you will find the whole task much simpler to accomplish?*. As a result you may find that your lawns look far better as you find yourself mowing them more ofttimes.

Benefit 3 – Not only can you cut your grass more efficiently with zero turn lawn mowers you will find that they are a swell deal more easy to use as well. They come with a seat just as other ride on petrol mowers are fitted with but these seem to be a lot more comfortable. Plus the other reason why you will find these more suitable to use as you don’t have to stand behind them to push them along.

Benefit 4 – Whether the machine you have is made by John Deere or Snapper as these were earlier designed to be used for industrial purposes they come with parts that are much more dependable. So compared to other machines you will find that they don’t need the same level of maintenance as other types of lawn mowers. These machines as a result don’t break down very often and so parts don’t need to be repaired or replaced often, so saving you money on such items.

So if you don’t have the time but want to keep your lawn in good condition then it is worth considering investing in getting yourself one of the zero turn lawn mowers or grass catchers now available.