If you want a garden, but you don't have a lot of room. Then you might want to think about a container garden. Containers need very little space and they can usually be moved fairly easy. They can also add color and make you yard look totally different.

If you want a container garden and don't know a lot about them, here are some suggestions you might like.
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Pretty much everyone talks about the weather, especially when they are growing any type of plants or seedlings. When ol Jack frost starts to get close, we gardeners really start paying close attention to the weather.

But even when you watch the weather three times a day or whatever. It's still a best guess as to when ol Jack frost will strike. Now is the time to get to thinking as to what you are going to do when Jack frost hits.
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Thatch is organic matter that has built up below the grass blades and the soil. This organic matter is usually grass clippings, and leaves are the main culprits.
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Keeping a well maintained yard and garden is important because it will show other people that you care about your property and home. Besides it is a great way to break the ice with new neighbors that move in down the street.

It's a great place to relax, because you don't have to do all the work at one time. You can take your
time and do it right in the summer months. It's not very expensive to have a garden. Depending on the type of garden that you want the cost can be between $20.00 dollars and a little sweat.

 Goats
A lot of people ask me what type of lawn mower to get for their lawns. I tell them if they want a mower for all around work that never fails to start, never uses a drop of fuel or oil. These same people cut me off and say I'm talking about an electric mower. I simply smile and tell them no, I was referring to a goat. Goats will keep your lawns looking their best at all times. Besides where else can you get a lawn mower that fertilizes your lawn at the same time.

When using these tips, you will want to check with your local garden center or Agriculture Agent. These tips will not harm your plants or trees. But using them in the wrong amounts can lead to unwanted results. So when using these tips the right way will enable your plants, trees, and shrubs to thrive provide you with lots of fun and enjoyment. Remember when its hot don't do anything in the garden. This will stress you plants more than waiting when its cool early in the morning and evening.
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There is a lot of caliche under or on top of the soil in West Texas. Cliche is a layer of calcium carbonate that has lime combined with it to form a soft to medium hard rock layer.

Caliche is usually a light to white or cream colored layer under the topsoil. This layer can be anywhere from a couple of inches thick to several feet thick, these layers are a lot like the formation of broken rock.
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Lawn aeration is used when you have high traffic areas, or places that drain poorly. But in order to areate your lawns you must know how much it is compacted. Because there are different degrees of compaction.

It also depends on what type of soil that you have. Then you can aerate your lawn using the proper method. There are different methods of aerating the soil depending on how much it is compacted.

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 Maintenance Lawn Care
Summer lawn care is mostly maintenance, mowing, watering, and what I think is tremendously important--treating you lawn to a regular light shampoo.

The use of soapy tonics on a regular basis will reduce the lawn's need for water, and help fertilizers and other controls work better.
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There are two types of fertilizers. One is made of chemicals or inorganic materials. The second type of fertilizer is know as organic or natural fertilizers. You will need to decide with one is right for you and your soil.

Chemical or inorganic fertilizers

Chemical fertilizers can burn your roots, if applied in the wrong manner. Chemical fertilizers are really not good for your soil. Because they will kill the microorganisms in the soil. Besides the root system of the plants will absorb these chemicals and what goes into the plants will go into the fruits and vegetables Then when you eat these fruits and vegetables then the chemicals will be in you. If you use these fertilizers then they should be used on plants that are not eaten. Like flowers, ground covers, and such. You shouldn't use these fertilizers on your yard either. because they can be absorbed through the skin if you like to walk barefoot in the yard. Or lay down in the grass. Especially when children are present. I don't know of a kid yet that doesn't come in from playing in the yard that's not scratching because of playing in the grass.

While chemical fertilizers promote quick growth for you plants. It will also produce weak plants, because they do not have time to mature good root system. without a good root system it will cause under development of the plant itself. when plants are weak this will cause them to be susceptible to diseases.

Now on to Organic Fertilizers
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Planting table onions (known as scallions, green onions) will grow well from sets in many climates. The small onion bulbs are known as sets. These onions will tolerate light frost so you can plant them fairly early in the year.

You don't really have to plant them in a certain manner. Because you will be harvesting them before they become to crowded.
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Now is the time to make up your mind about whether your going to grow or transplant your tomatoes. A lot of folks decide to just buy their tomato plants at a local nursery and transplant them into their garden.

If you decide to grow your own tomato plants, follow these tips to get better tomato's. Start your seeds out in small containers with a hole in the bottom for good drainage. I prefer to use Miracle Grow Moisture Control Soil in my containers. These seeds will need a container large enough to hold about a 3"  to 6" plant. You can also put them in larger containers and leave them there to grow.


They should be watered depending on your climate whether is dry or humid at least twice a day. In order to keep the soil moisture high until time to transplant. If you decide to grow them larger before transplanting, then the container should also be larger.
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Wooden Pallet Bin
You can make a very inexpensive bin using wooden pallets. You can find these pallets at just about any and every where they receive bulk items.

These stores will usually give these pallets to you free of charge. Some places you might try are furniture, grocery, hardware, any place that deals with bulk items will usually have pallets.

These stores usually are glad to get rid of the pallets, because they have to take them to the dump, which is usually not free. This bin includes a removable front to make it easy to turn the compost.
Materials
• Four wooden pallets
• 32 wood screws, 6 lag bolts, or bailing wire
• Four bolt latches

Composting is controlling the natural decay of organic matter by providing the right moisture and heat conditions for composting enzymes to convert yard trimmings into a product that can be returned to your landscape and garden.

These little organisms (mainly bacteria, fungi and protozoa) break down garden and landscape trimmings in a moist, aerobic (oxygen-demanding) environment. The final product is a dark, crumbly form of decomposed organic matter.  One way to test your soil to see what you have is to take some in you hand, and squeeze it into a ball. If it compacts tightly then you have a clay soil. If it compacts lightly then it is a loam, but if it falls apart immediately then it is mostly sand.

• Compost replenishes your soil. 
• When added to soil, compost helps break up clay soils. With clay soils water tends to move through it slowly.
• Helps sandy soils retain water and nutrients, and also releases essential nutrients.With sandy soils the water will move through it rapidly resulting in frequent watering.
• Compost also contains beneficial microscopic organisms that build up the soil and make nutrients available to plants. 
• Improving your soil is the first step towards growing healthy plants.

First Step: Is to rinse out the two halves of eggshells that you have left over from breakfast or baking a cake. Note: These eggshells don't have to be divided exactly. Put the eggshells into a container, I use a butter bowl that comes from the grocery store, or you can use a milk container with the top cut out. If the eggshells break don't throw them out, keep them because they are useful in other ways in the garden.


Second Step:  These eggshell halves will create a natural seed pot for planting your flower or vegetable seeds. Take a tool with a sharp point and make a small hole in the bottom of the eggshell halves for drainage. I also use the eggshell containers to put the eggshells back into in which I also make a hole in the bottom for drainage.


Now you can sow your seeds into these eggshells and start growing your plants. After your seeds start sprouting and the weather is warm enough you can transplant them into your garden. You do this by gently cracking the eggshell so that the roots have a way out into the soil.


Note: Don't worry about the eggshells, they will decompose naturally adding nutrient into the soil, and it's all organic.


Third Step: The eggshells that have cracked and are useless as seed pots, you can spread the pieces around into garden to ward off insects, and such because the eggshells have sharp edges that the bugs don't like. Mix the broken eggshells into the soil and around your plants, this will discourage slugs, and cutworms. Also sprinkle them around your plants base. If the pests can't get to your plants they can't eat on them.


Fourth Step: You can add eggshells to the garden when you are tilling the soil, this will add calcium to the soil. Also you can put the extra eggshells into your compost bin or pile. Eggshells will also discourage animals and birds from coming into the garden because eggshells have a sharp edge on them.


Some people like to use eggshells as a disposable funnel for garden chemicals, Just bore a small hole in the bottom of the eggshell and use it. I don't necessarily recommend this way, but it is one way.

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Finally, An Easy to Understand System That Teaches You Everything You Need to Know About Organic Gardening Without Having to Buy Expensive Tools or Fancy Equipment


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Spring is already here again its garden planting time. It's time to start thinking about getting the garden ready to plant.  Having a garden can be a lot of fun and rewarding as you plant  the seedling and watch them grow.

But first you need to plan where and what your garden spot is going to look like, and if it the best place for the garden. People sometimes think that they have to have a really big garden. But just remember the larger the garden the more work is going to be involved with it. What I have found that many people start out great with a large garden, but then it becomes to large for them to handle effectively.

If you are starting your first garden think about a smaller garden, then you can always enlarge the garden area if you want to. Remember the larger the garden the more work it is going to take to stay up with it. Most of the time first time gardener's should start out with an area of no more than around 150 sq. ft area. This So unless you are planning to sell the vegetables.

Usually 150 sq ft are is just about right for a family. It is useful to know  your  climate zone and  what type of  plants grow best in your area.

   In deciding upon the site for the home vegetable garden it is well to dispose once and for all of the old idea that the garden "patch" must be an ugly spot in the home surroundings. If thoughtfully planned, carefully planted and thoroughly cared for, it may be made a beautiful and harmonious feature of the general scheme, lending a touch of comfortable homeliness that no shrubs, borders, or beds can ever produce.

With this fact in mind we will not feel restricted to any part of the premises merely because it is out of sight behind the barn or garage. In the average moderate-sized place there will not be much choice as to land. It will be necessary to take what is to be had and then do the very best that can be done with it. But there will probably be a good deal of choice as to, first, exposure, and second, convenience. Other things being equal, select a spot near at hand, easy of access. It may seem that a difference of only a few hundred yards will mean nothing, but if one is depending largely upon spare moments for working in and for watching the garden and in the growing of many vegetables the latter is almost as important as the former this matter of convenient access will be of much greater importance than is likely to be at first recognized. Not until you have had to make a dozen time-wasting trips for forgotten seeds or tools, or gotten your feet soaking wet by going out through the dew-drenched grass, will you realize fully what this may mean.

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Master Gardener
Jesse Auburg