Some of the Best Gardening Tips

It doesn't matter if you are a seasoned professional or the most novice of gardeners, you will quickly realize there are many people out there who will offer you their tips on how to plant and care for your garden. No matter what gardening problem you are facing, the solution to that problem is out there. You may even find that there is more than one suitable solution. Of the many gardening tips that you will find, there are a few in particular that stand out.

How to rid household Plants of Pests

A very common problem that many gardeners face is how to deal with pests and insects on their houseplants. You need to take caution here and choose a solution that will get rid of the pest but not harm the plants.

You will need to find a solution that will allow you to deal with the pests safely. One of your first steps should be to remove the insects from the plants. Daily cleaning of the plant will allow you to take physical control of the pests and also give you a chance to monitor the health of your plants to see how well any of your other efforts are working.

One way to clean the plant is to use an insecticidal soap. This process works by smothering or suffocating the insects as it comes in contact with the product. You will need to apply the soap liberally and frequently until you have rid the plant of all pests.

Another common method of ending an insect problem is by simply dusting your plants with a light chemical insecticide. Make sure to review the warnings on the product packaging so you don't accidentally kill your plants. Follow the application instructions carefully.

When to Start Seeding

One of the often overlooked gardening tips by the novice gardener is not paying attention to the proper time to begin seed starting. One thing is for sure, you do not want to begin too early. If you plant too early in the year you risk having your plants killed by a frost. As a rule of thumb it is generally accepted good practice to begin most seedlings in mid-March.

Another technique is to start your plants indoors and then move them outdoors once they are healthy enough to survive outside. This technique involves a bit of math to get the timing just right but basically you will plant your seeds so that you can safely move them outdoors in about 6 weeks. Depending on your plants, this gives you about a week or two for germination and then about a month of growth before you can safely move it outdoors.

These are just a small portion of the thousands of gardening tips that are available. The more you can learn the more plentiful your garden will be. Gardening can be an extremely enjoyable activity when you follow a few basic steps. So if you are interested in gardening and you want to produce some beautiful plants you should try to learn as many gardening tips as you can to give you a garden you will be proud of.

And oh yeah, don't forget to water.

Gardening Reviews.com is a site that shares gardening tips, gardening tools and product reviews and information for the home gardener. Please visit us at [http://www.gardening-reviews.com]

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dale_Martin

Read More

Gardening Tips - Growing Your Vegetables in Containers

Vegetable gardening in containers provides gardeners who have limited space the chance to benefit from fresh vegetables. All you need is a sunny patio to grow your favorite veggies. When it comes to the most suitable types of vegetables for container gardening, your choice depends on the zone of your location. You can easily purchase seeds online or from your garden center and nursery in your area.

Aside from determining the best types of vegetables to grow, it is also essential to know the basics about planting vegetables in containers.

Containers. Any type of pot or container will do for your little garden but it is important that the container is lightweight because you have to move it around. You can add wheels to your container or just place them on a cart with wheels to make the moving easier especially if an unanticipated spring frost is predicted or if a severe weather is coming.

Soil. You can purchase bagged soil at your local nursery. Make sure to go for a lightweight soil mixture that can sustain mature plants and provide nutrients to your vegetables.

Sunlight. Your vegetables require full sunlight (6 or more hours everyday). There are some vegetable varieties such as radishes, lettuce and chard that require less sunlight but it is recommended to put the containers in direct sunlight.

Drainage. The containers must have holes in order to let excess water to drain. You can find a lot of lovely resin or plastic planters at your local garden center or nursery that don't have holes in them. Using a drill, just add 3 or 4 holes at the bottom of the planters. Before putting the soil mixture, it is recommended to add a level of pebbles at the base to help with the drainage.

Fertilizer. Expect the fertilizer to be drained quickly every time you water your containers. If you use lighter mixes, you need to fertilize more frequently. It is recommended to employ a thinned liquid fertilizer or liquid seaweed or liquid fish emulsion. However, it is important to note that your plants require different types of nutrients so check the descriptions on the fertilizer to ensure that they have a balanced and complete solution including trace elements.

Watering. A lot of vegetables require a lot of moisture throughout the whole growing season. In addition, if the container plants are placed in exposed areas, they tend to lose moisture rapidly so make sure to water them more often.

Vegetable varieties. When choosing the types of vegetables for the vegetable garden in your patio, it is important to consider what your family loves to eat. In addition, choose those that can grow suitably in a restricted space. There are a lot of gardeners who benefit from growing tomatoes because of the fact that home-produced tomatoes taste a lot better than those bought at the supermarket. You can try the following vegetables for your container gardening:

• Carrots
• Eggplants
• Cucumbers
• Lettuce
• Peppers
• Radishes
• Melons
• Tomatoes
• Herbs
• Green beans
• Green onions
• Broccoli
• Spinach
• Garlic
• Squash

Even if you live in a small apartment, you can still engage in gardening and enjoy fresh vegetables anytime. By using your balcony or your sunny deck, growing different varieties of vegetables will be as easy as A, B, C.

Gardening is great for relaxation and spending time with the family. To find out more and learn how to grow a vegetable garden visit http://FooPages.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jason_Pillay

Read More

Winter Gardening Tips

A lot of gardeners wonder how they can care for their more delicate plants throughout the winter months. Keeping your plants in good health over the winter requires a special set of skills. Your gardening practices must change with the seasons for optimal results.

In general plants are fairly well adapted in protecting themselves against the weather changes that come with the seasons. However as a gardener you can undergo certain actions to help out your plants with seasonal changes. This article will outline some of these actions and give you advice on how to keep your garden ticking in winter.

One thing is for certain; your garden is not going to keep its summer beauty throughout winter. Trying to retain this is a futile task and a waste of your time. However it can still be slightly and appealing to the eye. 
You just need to be smart with how you maintain the garden over the colder months.
Actions you should follow:

• Continue planting throughout winter with appropriate plants. However do not force plants into an unnatural habitat. In other words only plant when the ground is soft enough to dig up naturally.

• Add some mulch from your autumn decay to the soil. This will help protect roots from the colder weather.

• Add a small amount of compost so that nutrients are not lost over the winter months.

• If there is an anticipated big freeze then water your plants before this happens. What this will do is provide the plants with water before all accessible water in the ground is frozen. It will also give the roots some extra protection against frost damage.

• Protect your potted plants with heat retaining material. You can purchase special material to place over the base of potted plants to help them retain heat. Doing this in conjunction to moving the plants closer to your house should help their winter health.

Actions you should avoid:
• Avoid using fertilizer during the winter months as this will confuse plants. Fertilizer encourages flowering and new growth. However during winter plants want to be in a dormant state and just survive through the cold.

• Don't over water your plants. Keeping plants with a healthy amount of water is fine, but plants generally require a lot less over winter.

Overall winter gardening is mainly common sense, following the advice in this article will see your garden come through winter in top condition. For keen gardeners who want to see their garden thrive in all seasons attentive care is necessary.

If you are looking for winter maintenance equipment such as salt spreaders or grit salt then check out SGM who are leading suppliers of year round groundcare equipment.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Peter_McAllister

Read More

Tomato Gardening Tips

You need to know right off that being able to grow the best tomatoes isn't an easy proposition. You need to know how to give them the best care and how to create the best growing conditions to ensure that they get everything they need. What they need is sufficient light, good soil, and lots of water. The soil needs to have warmed up enough before you plant them. Once you have your plants growing you then have to become a caretaker. You care for them by trimming the leaves of your tomatoes. This is done because it is believed that it's the leaves that have been responsible for most of the problems that occur when growing tomatoes.

Exposure to sunlight cannot be stressed enough. This can be either artificial or natural, but the more of it your tomatoes can get the higher yield you can expect to have. So to ensure that your young tomato plants get the light they need to grow, it is recommended that you put them under grow lights. Then once they have a good start you can take them outside. Then you can put them in a part of the garden where you know they will receive plenty of natural sunlight.

Any of the tomato growing experts will tell you that your tomatoes grow best under conditions of warmth. Before you ever start your tomatoes one good tip is to first cover or enclose the part of your garden you plan to use and heat it. This can take you as long as several weeks which is why early planning needs to take place. Warming up your garden spot is not a guarantee of juicy tomatoes, but it actually does accelerate the speed for their growth. This alone makes it worth doing.

A common mistake many gardeners make is to crowd their seedling so they can get a higher yield. I will let you know right now that this may get you some more tomatoes, but you lose a lot in quality. Tomato gardening works at its best when you space out your seedlings to let them have enough room and to spread out. While they continue to grow some experts recommend that you move them to a larger place that will further facilitate their growth and give them enough space to grow to their full size.

Another tip for your tomato gardening is fanning your seedlings. It's not really clear why this works but it is a common belief that tomato plants will grow better when placed under a constant light breeze. It might be that a breeze forces your plants to develop stronger stems. You won't need to keep a fan on them all day, but just half an hour a day should be sufficient.

For more information about growing tomatoes please visit our website Home Grown Tomatoes.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ted_Wilson

Read More