Take Advantage of Your Garden Condition

Take advantage of your garden assets. Every garden has some strong points or the other. But most of the time people complain about what they are missing. There is no harm in improving your garden conditions, but it is also important and sometimes more fulfilling to utilize the prevailing conditions and use them to their full effect.

In this article we want to emphasize these points. Here are some of these garden conditions which bother people, and just how you can use them to your benefit.

1. Too much sunlight:
   If your garden receives bright sunlight most of the time, you should consider yourself lucky. There are very few plants in this world which dont like bright sunlight. Most of the vegetables and fruit growing plants require at least six hours of direct sunlight ( check out Sun or No Sun for more information). Many bright-coloured flowers grow fantastically well under bright sunlight. You can choose variety of colours and combinations.
2.  Lack of sunlight:
   If your garden conditions are just the opposite of the previous one i.e, you rarely receive bright sunlight; you dont need to worry. Consider this as an opportunity to create cool and soothing environment around. One of the major benefits of having a darker garden is that you dont need to worry about wilting of plants. It will provide a fresher look to your garden. Not every plant requires 6 hours of direct sunlight; grow leafy vegetables. Many flowers actually prefer dark environment and not the direct sunlight. More details about shade gardening is here in this article.
3. Dry conditions:
   If your garden soil and surroundings are too dry, and you think it is not possible to grow anything; think again. These days, there are so many options available with growers that you dont even need to think about watering most of the time. Start from cacti and the option is endless. You might think this as a blessing in disguise. You can start with the nursery shops and ask for their help in selecting the plants; or you can use the Internet to research about this.
4. Wet or soggy condition:
   Dont neglect these parts of the garden just because they are soggy and damp. Grow plants that love damp environments. This might look a little unconventional but it will help to redecorate your landscape. Skunk cabbage can be a good option for this type of environments. You can check this article for a detailed list of various plants for this kind of environment.
5. Acidic soil:
   A soil pH lower than 6.5 is called acidic soil. Acidic soil is actually good for many plants. Potatoes, Strawberries, Radishes etc love acidic soil. You can also turn your empty acidic patch of land into a rose garden in case the soil is slightly acidic. Different types of fern also grows well in acidic soil.
6. Alkaline soil:
   In contrast to the above, here the soil pH is 7.5 or more. Other than lowering the pH (which is always an option), you can also use the conditions to grow plants that are more suitable to grow in alkaline soil. Plants such as Sunflowers, Daisies, Leeks, Oranges are ideal for alkaline soil. You can also opt for plants like Maple is you have the required space.

These are just some of the examples. You can always use your creativity and gardening knowledge to create more such solutions.

What do you think about the article? Give your feedback using the comment box below. We would like to hear from you.

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Water The Most Important but Negelected Factor in your Gardening

Water or H2O is one of the factors in absence of which your gardening dream will never fulfill. Though every gardener knows the importance of water, not every one of us are aware of the different techniques which if followed, can maximize the impact of water to your gardening. This blog focuses on some of those points.

The quantity of water in the soil is very important to the plants. Too little or too much watering both can be detrimental. As for the beginners, plants prepare food by using water, sunlight and Carbon Di-oxide(CO2) with the help of Chlorophyll(which is present in huge quantity in the leaves). This process is called Photosynthesis. Now with out water the plant can not complete the process and thus dies out. In case you put too much water the over wet soil can damage the roots, and can also become prone the many diseases and growth of many fungi.

So now the most important question: How much and how often should I water? Well, the best answer is its depends on your judgement. 

Just do a soil test. Pick up a little amount of soil and try to make a ball out of it. If it crumbles in your hand that means it needs water quickly. If you are able to form a ball with the soil, without making you fingers stained,then that means the soil has the perfect amount of moisture. In case your are able to form a ball, but your fingers become wet that means the water content in the soil is high and no need of further watering. 

How often you need to water the plants depends on the climate your plants are in. If the climate is warm and the plants are in direct sunlight you might have to water them very frequently. Likewise in rainy seasons(check out my blog on gardening in the Rain for more details) the watering needs are very less. Type of soil is also an important factor in watering. Soil less media such as Peat moss and Coconut Coir does not require that much water which is required in normal soil. Last but not the least watering also depends hugely on the type of plant. If the plant is fruit bearing one, or have shallow root system you need to water much more frequently than the rest of the plants in your garden.

Morning is the best time for watering your plants. It allows the plant to take up the water and get ready for the heat or the dampness of the day. It also helps the plants to fully utilize the water for their food preparation. The next best option is in the evenings, just make sure you put the water to the roots only. If the stem and the leaves stays wet during night can invite many diseases such as mildew and molds. Try to avoid watering in mid-days as it can be wasteful. Due to the increased heat, moisture evaporates from the soil before the roots can absorb it. But never stop giving water to the plant in the mid-day even after seeing the soil is dry, just because it is not the optimal time for watering.

While watering make sure you water thoroughly once a week making your soil well moistened rather than a brief sprinkle every day. Always give water to the roots i.e, at the base of the plant rather than giving the whole plant a shower(Dont take the picture above too seriously).

People spend lots of time and money on landscaping, and other garden related activities but rarely spend much time on watering which at times results in death of so many plants in the garden. If we take a little effort and apply common sense, 75% of the plant’s death in the garden due to lack  of proper watering system, can be prevented. 

Enjoy Gardening. 

Please let me know what do you think about the article by commenting bellow.

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The Innocence of Childhood

The last few days have been a roller coaster of emotions, despair leading to optimism and back again, sometimes in the blink of an eye.

And then I heard a story. And a true one at that. A story that made me smile and made me cry all at the same time. Perhaps a story of naivety, of immature innocence but still one that warmed the cockles.

Many of you will be aware of Skipchen, and many of you will have seen Sam or one of his colleagues talking passionately about their Pay As You Like restaurants that are popping up UK wide, feeding people with food that would otherwise have gone to landfill, and asking people to pay what theyd like, or what they can, for the food. Any way, Sam spoke at an event I was at last night and heres the story he shared........

Bristol has a reasonably affluent area called Henleaze, which has the citys only full sized Waitrose, who regularly throw food into skips that go to landfill. There had obviously been some conversation around food waste at school, and Skipchen had obviously been discussed. So 25 children, as only children could do, wrote to the manager of Waitrose and asked him to give his food that normally went into the skip, to Skipchen.

And he agreed!!!

Theres a lesson to be learnt here. If a child says to you, but that doesnt make sense, listen to them. Ask them why. Enter into a meaningful discussion with them without using any adult rhetoric or economic figures. Just listen. 

Food that goes into skips to go to landfill?

Beans being brought from desert areas in Africa? 

Cutting down trees on our most fertile soil?

I could go on but you get my point. 

And well done Sam and the Skipchen crew. Youre awesome. As are all the other organisations out there putting food into mouths rather than bins and shouting about food waste and the horrors of it.

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Home and Garden Projects update 6 22

I recently fenced in my garden area to keep the neighborhood cats out. I ran out of straw, but luckily a local tree removal device is going to drop off 2 cubic yards of wood chips this week for free. I have some Stropharia (aka Wine Cap, aka Garden Giant, aka Portabello) mushroom spawn to mix into the wood chips. Im also getting 2 bales of straw next weekend for a couple straw bale gardens I want to play with.

Hey, put me down, Im not done eating!

Exploding with life!

So far Ive harvested:

Swiss Chard, Lettuce, Lambs Quarter, Radishes, and Beets

Some yard mushrooms.

Burdock in the yard.

Orange spots on the backyard apple tree. My landlord hasnt taken good care of it, so Im hoping to do some trimming and try to bring it back to health. Branches crossing, its a mess. Already, there are lots of apples forming, though!

Heres a short video showing the IBC Tote Aquaponic System that Im contructing at my parents house in Delaware.  Its finally just about ready for fish and plants.

While at work, I realized that the trees outside the cafeteria are Juneberries! They were ripe and delicious.

I got about 3.5 cups of Juneberries (aka Service berry, aka Shadbush, aka Shadberry.

My girlfriend baked them into a Juneberry crisp dessert for my family reunion.

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Grow Cabbage In Your Home Some Basic Tips

Cabbage is generally a cool weather crop. There are quite a few varieties available in the market viz Green Cabbage, Red Cabbage, Savoy Cabbage, Pointed cabbage, etc.,

Cabbage can be grown from the seeds easily. Sow seeds one inch deep into the soil. Spacing is very important in growing cabbage two seedling should not be very close to each other.

Generally it is advised to keep the spacing 6-12 inches apart. Another trick in the book is to harvest alternatively to give each plant enough space to grow.

Check your soil pH before planting the seeds. An ideal pH range is 6.5 to 6.8. Lower pH can be prone to club root diseases. To increase the pH of the soil try adding lime along with the soil.

It is important to choose the variety of cabbage wisely and as per your local environment. For example, if you are in cooler climate you can choose slower maturity variety and can grow huge heads, but in case you are in warmer climate it is best to go for fast-maturing variety and grow in the springtime.

As you may have already experienced, cabbage requires regular feeding and a good amount of sunlight. In hot summers provide temporary shade to the plants.

For a good cabbage head you need to maintain a constant level of moisture. Water regularly. Uneven watering can make the cabbage head crack. Check out this watering guide before start giving water to the plant.

Applying mulch and mixing compost with soil can provide the solution. Once the new leaves began to emerge apply fertilizers such as fish emulsion, blood meal, etc., A compost made of tea can be very helpful to the plant. It provides the much needed nitrogen to the plant in case the leaves are turning yellow.

Cabbage is one of the vegetables that is very much prone to pests and diseases. One of prominent sign is holes in the cabbage leaves. There are so many insects such as cabbage loopers, slugs, aphids, root maggots, etc., some most frequent diseases include club roots, yellow leaves, black rots, etc., though the variety of problem differs very much and their particular solutions can vary, one of the general solution is to go for companion planting. In case the plants are already attacked by some molds or fungal diseases, it is wiser to remove the plant. Also, crop rotation prevents many of the pests.

You can be sure that the cabbage is ready for harvesting once you can feel their head become firm. Cut the head with a sharp knife from the stem. You can refrigerate the heads for two weeks.

Raw and chopped cabbages can provide a great compliment with barbecue and seafood. There are so many good recipes involving cabbage is present in many cultures. Cabbage is good source for vitamin A, C and Iron.




What is your experience regarding growing Cabbage? Do you have any trick to share? Any advice will be welcomed.

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How To Grow Transplants In Your Own House

Today we are going to discuss about how you can grow Transplants (seedlings) in your house and use it to grow plants in stead of growing directly from the seeds. Now, you must be wondering why we should take the pain of preparing transplants when we can easily grow plants directly from seeds. So let me tell you this, there are two major advantages of growing transplants in stead of growing plants directly from the seeds.

Firstly, it drastically reduces poor germination possibilities. Unlike directly growing from the seeds in this case proper care is taken to every seeds so that each of them gets most favourable condition for germination. So the seed wastage is greatly reduced.

Secondly, when you transplant the seedlings to the permanent spot where they are meant to grow Chances of survival of the plants are increased greatly as they become adaptive to the climate outside. It most of the cases when we grow from the seeds this is the time when most of the plants die as they try their best to adapt to the surroundings.

So where do we start?

To prepare the transplant you first need to have high quality seeds. You can buy from your nearby nursery shop or you can use your own. The seeds from commercial supplier are generally are of superior quality as it is prepared under professional guidance. If you are planning to buy the seeds please refer to the dates mentioned in the packet while buying.

The next thing which is very very important in transplanting is the media or the soil. Different mediaare used, to prepare the transplant. But while choosing, remember it should allow air and water to reach the seed, and it should provide nutrition in those early times.

The next question is should you use sterile or normal media. Well, in most of the cases the media used by professional gardeners are sterile in nature. It reduces the chance of fungal or any other diseases. You can easily find sterile media from your nearest garden shop. One of the major drawback about using sterile media is that it contains almost no nutrient. So you need to transfer the seedlings in early stages or they would die.

Once you have finalized about the seeds and growth media it is now time to select the containers. The most popular is plastic seedling trays. This form is widely used by the gardeners and nurseries across the world. It can save you lots of time and space by selecting these them than going for individual pots. You can also choose to use used egg cartons or paper cups. Sometimes tiny pots made up from peat moss or coconut coir is also used. Now that you have selected your final ingredient, put some mixture (growth media) in every pot or compartment of the tray, sow the seed and cover it with some mixture. Add little bit of water to keep the mixture moistened. Keep the tray in a place inside your house and wait for the seeds to germinate.

Once they germinate, put the tray in a place where the tray get sunlight. It will ensure proper growth for the seedlings. After two to 4 weeks (depending on the plant and the size of the seedlings) transplant them in their permanent spot.

Hope you have liked the article. Share your thoughts by using the comment box below:

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Storing Your Vegetables You Must Know the Basics

Storing of vegetables properly is a very important part of practicing gardening. Though we are doing very well in gardening, the importance of storing of vegetables can’t be ignored. All our efforts for producing good quality crops will be wasted if the vegetables are not stored properly. This article will give you some tips on how you can store your garden yield.

While storing fresh vegetables 2 main points you need to take into consider.

1. Water loss
2. Respiration rate

The meaning of proper storage is to place the harvested vegetables in an environment where essential life processes like respiration can continue in a very slow rate and the water loss can be minimal.

Preventing water lossis one of the important factors in storing vegetables. Water loss can cause wilted and dull looking vegetables. Storing in low temperature with high humidity will prevent the vegetables from loosing water.

Respiration of the vegetable is another reason which you need to take into consideration while storing. The rate of respiration varies with the water content of the vegetables. For example at a given temperature leafy vegetables such as spinach and lettuce will respire more than potato or carrots. The rate is also higher in immature vegetables.

During respiration oxygen is absorbed and sugar present within the cells breaks down into energy, carbon Di oxide, water and heat.  For keeping the vegetables in a proper edible condition the respiration level should be held at very low level. You can slow down the respiration level by reducing the oxygen level.  This is done by keeping the vegetables in perforated plastic bags or by covering the pot in which the vegetables are kept. Please don’t use total airtight containers these will stop the respiration process entirely and the vegetables will not be as tasteful as it should be.

We usually store vegetables in refrigerators. The refrigerators keep the temperature usually uniform but the temperature may vary within different compartments. In most of the cases temperature is lowest just beneath the freezer.  This causes the warmer air to circulate around the side. This air is also sometime lower in humidity and thus causes any uncovered vegetables to dry out.

For the storing purposes the vegetables are divided in 4 groups:

Group 1: these vegetables are the most sensitive to temperature and humidity. These have the highest respiration rate and water loss can be huge if not taken proper care. They should be stored in 30-40 deg F and 90% humidity. It can be sub divided into group A and group B.

Group A: Lettuce, Spinach, green onions, Swiss chord etc.

Group B: Broccoli, beet, Cabbage, Celery, Radishes etc.

Group A vegetables are best stored when kept in crisper state and washed before storing. Store Group B vegetables in plastic bags or containers and keep them in the main compartment of the refrigerator.

Group 2: These types of vegetables are little less sensitive to temperature but very sensitive to humidity. Storing these vegetables requires 40-50 deg F temperature and 90-95% humidity. Though most of the time it is not possible to maintain such a customized temperature and humidity, don’t keep these vegetables in refrigerator for more than 7 days.

Vegetables such as Bell peppers, Cucumbers, Squash, ripe Melons etc. are in included in this category.

Group 3: Vegetables such as ripe tomatoes, Sweet Potatoes, Okra, Eggplants are included in group 3. These vegetables are prone to chilling injury. Ideal temperature for storing is 60 deg F You don’t need to put them inside the refrigerator for storing. Rather it is better to keep them in a cool and dark place.  

Group 4: Dry Garlic, melons are grouped in this group. Store them where there is an absence of direct sunlight.

Another piece of advice, don’t store many ripen food together with fresh vegetables. Ripen fruit emit ethylene gas. It will cause the vegetables to become yellow, sprout the potatoes and cause bitterness in carrots.

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Neem Cake The Best Organic Fertilizer Your Soil Fertility Doesnt Have To Be Hard

Use of neem cakes as organic fertilizer is a very well known practice worldwide and especially in India. You can increase soil fertility by adding neem cakes to the soil.

I have discussed about compost in my earlier article. Now its time to put some light on Neem.

Scientific Name of Neem : Azadirachta indica

Common Name : Nim, Neem, Limba, and Nimba etc.

Neem is a tree with stout and rather short stem. It can grow up to 12-15 meter. Neem seeds are collected from the tree and from there oil is extracted. De oiled neem cakes are used in fertilization of the soil.

There are several uses of neem. It is used as a base for preparing various consumer and industrial products. It is used as a repellent for pests. Unlike chemical pesticides neem works on the hormonal system of any insect rather than working on nervous or digestive system and hence it does not lead to resistance. In India the neem plant is considered to be an air purifier and so planted in the backyard or beside the house. But in this article I will discuss only the effect it has as a fertilizer.

Since very early in India neem are being used as a natural fertilizers. It had become very popular due to its dual impact of soil enhancer as well as pest repellent. Neem cakes as well as neem leaves are used to fertilize the soil. The followings are the nutrient content of neem seed cake:

Nutrients Percentage and Neem Cake Composition

(N)	Nitrogen	(2.0% to 5.0%)
(P)	Phosphorus	(0.5% to 1.0%)
(K)	Potassium	(1.0% to 2.0%)
(Ca)	Calcium	(0.5% to 3.0%)
(Zn)	Zinc	(15 ppm to 60 ppm)
(Cu)	Copper	(4 ppm to 20 ppm)
(S)	Sulphur	(0.2% to 3.0%)
(Mg)	Magnesium	(0.3% to 1.0%)
(Fe)	Iron	(500 ppm to 1200 ppm)
(Mn)	Manganese	(20 ppm to 60 ppm)

Neem can be a great product if you are considering decreasing your soil pH. It can reduce the alkalinity of the soil as it get mixed with the soil and produce organic acids. In India it is extensively used in cash crops like turmeric, sugarcane, banana etc. it is a good alternative for chemical fertilizers in growing flowers and vegetables.

Neem cakes improves the appearances of fruits and vegetables. It also strengthens roots, and grow the foliage. It works very well when mixed with compost or other organic fertilizers. Applying neem with nitrogenous fertilizers can slow down the conversion process of nitrogenous compounds in ammonia, nitrates and nitrites and so improves efficiency of the soil.

Neem cakes are though enriched with different nutrients(NPK and micro nutrients) and produced better yield than urea it is very cost effective. The NPK is 100% natural and it is also accompanied by several micro nutrients(as stated above). They are very well compatible with the microbes present in the soil and improves its fertility. Beneficial animals like earth worm really seems to like the neem.

Hope this article gave you some insights about this great Indian plant and its uses as a soil enhancer. More on neem and its uses in future articles. Post your feedback.

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	Summer Planting Guide
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	Summer Harvesting
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