Jesse's Gardening Tips

Garden Containers can be Beautiful

2010-11-02T12:58:00.000-05:00

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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Containers need to be deep enough to have 6" or more of soil. Make sure that the containers are big enough so there is room enough for the roots to grow.

Whether you are using new or old containers, be sure to clean them before using. Even new containers can contain debris and disease. So be sure to clean out the containers just to be sure that they are clean and disease free. Depending on whether your containers are clay or plastic doesn't really matter. You use 9 parts water to 1 part bleach, and a tablespoon of dish soap. Use a stiff bristle brush to clean the containers.

If containers are very dirty then you might want to wash them twice. Just to be sure that there is no residue left in them.

You want to make sure that the drain hole in the bottom of the containers are open and clear of any obstructions. Then place either gravel or foam about an inch deep or so in the bottom. This will provide good drainage and keep dirt from plugging the drain holes. This will also eliminate root rot because of roots being too wet. If it doesn't kill your plants, it will sure keep them from being as healthy as they could be.

Choosing healthy, disease, pest, and well established plants. If the garden store doesn't have them then save your money and go to another one. I am not saying that they grow diseased plants but they might have just been picked through and then you are left with the poorest plants. Be sure to check your plants for fungus, mold, pests, and be sure to look under the leaves.

When placing your containers in your yard, if the place that you are going to use gets full sunshine, be sure to use plants that need full sun to thrive. In other words pick your plants to the area that you are going to use. This will ensure that the plants that need full sunshine, and the plants that need partial shade will get the required amount so you plants stay healthy and thriving.

When using containers you will want to use a light soil that drains well. You might even need to mix peat moss into the soil to help keep the soil from packing. The soil should drain adequately and it will need watering everyday.

You should remove dead leaves and limbs regularly. This will help encourage further growing. By not removing these leaves and limbs can promote disease in the plants. They will open up where pests and disease can start.

When using containers you should use a liquid fertilizer every two weeks. Depending on the liquid fertilizer that you use this schedule might vary. Do not over use this fertilizer it can burn the roots.

When watering these containers try not to use city water on them because of the chloring in the water. This chlorine can burn the leaves. I would suggest that you use a drip system on the containers. This will eliminate water on the leaves and keep the soil moister closer to its right consistency. Also once a year you should remove at least one inch of top soil and replace it with compost. The compost will help it to keep the soil in the container moist.

Be sure to take your containers inside in the winter. This will extend the life of your plants, if you live up north. You could also put them in a greenhouse with heating and keep them all year around. Also you want to protect your containers from the cold and ice. This can break the containers and ruin all the work that you have put into them.

May all your plants thrive as you do. Happy Gardening Until Next Time!

Jesse Auburg Online Marketing Entrepreneur
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Keeping Ol Jack Frost off

2010-10-07T16:09:00.000-05:00

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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Gardeners know that there are two critical times when frost can kill your growing season. That's the first frost and the last frost. Waiting until the last minute will only cause you stress and worry. So now is the time to develop a plan of defense.

If you are not sure as to what dates these occur then you can ask your County Extension Agent, or you can go online and find the Farmers Almanac for your region. But this will only tell you the history of the first and last frost that have already occured. This best guess will only go so far. The rest is up to you and how ready you are for them.

There are two different types of frost, there is the (light frost) and the (hard frost). Let's take a look at the light frost first. Because light frosts are usually the first ones to hit your plants. You might think that light frosts are anything to worry about. But the truth is that for some plants it might not make that big of difference. But for some plants it can be a serious blow to them.

Let's beat Jack Frost
Let's beat Jack frost at his own game. Here we will discuss what's in it for some of your plants and what you can expect, and how you want your plants to respond.

Light Frost
First of all when a light frost occurs it is because the tempertures hover right at freezing. They might dip a degree below the freezing mark. Then climb back up when the wind blows. This is because cold air sinks, and plants that are in low spaces will be at risk of frost than plants that are higher above the ground.

Plants that are tropical in nature like peppers, tomatoes, and basil have bacteria on their leaves that can actually cause frost damage. Hardier plants have little trouble with light frost and may even benefit from the light frost.

What you can do about ol Jack Frost
If you are planting seeds in the ground, you usually don't have anything to worry about with frost of either kind. Because by the time they get above ground the frost period is over with. But if you are planting seedlings or transplanting your plants these are the ones that you have to worry about.

These plants are just starting out and their roots have not had time to get fully established in the ground yet. You can use cans, old buckets, hay, mulch, or anything to cover these plants to keep the frost from getting to them.

Don't throw those old sheets or blankets away. Keep them to lay on your plants when you think that frost is close. Sheets are great because they don't weight your plants down but do keep the frost from reaching the plants. Blankets can be used for larger plants and for hard frosts. Since blankets are heavier then you might want to put stakes around the plants to keep the weight off of them. (HINT: A old tarpolien works great also.)

What I did was to buy some 1/2" pvc and some tees and ells. I cut the pve every 5' and put a tee in and glued back together. I would put ells on the end of the pvc and run it down the row on each side of the plants. At the ells and tees I put a 1' pvc in the ell and tees and made a little truss. Then lay my tarps over this. This would shield the plants from the frost and keep the tarps off of the plants. If you don't glue them together then after the threat of frost you can remove them and store them for the next time you need them.

Hard Frosts
If the weather calls for the temperature to drop into the upper 20's for several hours. This can lead to serious frost damage to your plants. This can even kill some plants. For this then I would suggest that you lay several blankets or tarps over these plants. It might weight them down a little. But they should spring back once the blankets or tarps are removed.

Happy Gardening, may all your plants bloom beautifully!

Jesse Auburg Online Marketing Entrepreneur
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Removing Thatch for a Healthier Lawn

2010-09-24T07:01:00.003-05:00

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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What is thatch? Thatch is a build-up of organic materials. These organic materials can be grass clippings, and leaves. These will build up over time as you mow your grass. Even mulching your grass is not a deterrent. It is best to check your lawn at least twice a year to keep an eye on the build-up.

Thatch can create a barrier that will prevent water, oxygen, and nutrients from reaching the roots. Which can lead to grass that is not as healthy as it could be. So if you are watering regularly, and feeding your lawn and your lawn still looks like its having a hard time growing. Thatch could very well be your problem

A lawn that is deprived of the nutrients, water, and oxygen it needs can lead to a lawn that is subject to disease. Also pests like to burrow into the thatch to build their homes. Here they can attack the roots of the grass and be sheltered. De thatching a lawn is crucial to having a healthy lawn, and creating a lot less work in the long term.

The thickness of the thatch needs to be on a quarter of an inch thick to create the barrier. You can use your fingers or a flat head screwdriver to lift up the thatch to determine if you need to remove it.

You can remove thatch different ways, you can rake the yard each time that you mow. This will keep the grass clippings to a minimum. Don't let your grass grow tall, this will cause the blades to cut long stems instead of short. These will lay on the lawn and cause a build-up.

Or you can wear golfing shoes with the cleats in the bottom as you walk around the lawn. Or you can use a de-thatching rake which has sharp tines that will claw the thatch out of the lawn.

Before you fertilize your lawn each time, it would be best to de-thatch your lawn this will let the fertilizer to work itself down into the ground to where the roots are instead of staying on top and burning your lawn.

There are power de-thatching rakes, either gas or electric powered. Just before fertilizing your lawn in the spring and fall, when the weather is good for fast growth of the grass, mechanically remove thatch with a de-tatching rake, that cut into the thatch so you can rake it up and dump it into the compost pile. For large areas, you might want to rent a power rake to do the same job.

Some tillers come with reversible tines that can be used to de-tatch lawns with. Or some might come with different set of tines for the tiller to do the job with.

Overfeeding your lawn can cause faster build-up of thatch because you encourage faster than normal growth of the grass. This will cause you to have to mow more often.

Don't overfeed your lawn, Pushing your luck with fertilizers, can cause thatch problems that wouldn't have otherwise exist if the lawn were allowed to grow at a reasonable rate.

As always when using any tools in the yard or garden, be sure to wear safety clothing, like long sleeves and pants. Eye and ear protection, and gloves. When handling fertilizers, and or any chemicals. The rakes especially power rakes can be dangerous, handle with care and always read and understand the safety and handling precautions when using these tools.

Always Put Safety First and Be Safe.
Happy Gardening and May All Your Plants Bloom Beautifully.

Jesse Auburg Online Marketing Entrepreneur
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Why Should You keep Your Garden Looking Maintained

2010-09-11T17:47:00.002-05:00

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.

There are many different types of gardens. There are flower gardens, vegetable gardens, rock gardens, pool gardens, herb gardens, and many more. These gardens are a great way to relieve stress from the job, kids, or bills. It's a great way of instead of just sitting on the couch get some exercise out in the garden or yard. It will be a great way of keeping the weight off and your energy up.

Well kept yards and gardens are a great way to increase the value of your home. Because people will
see that you care about your property and that it is well maintained. Besides people will be more
likely to buy your property if the yard and garden are well kept. No one will want to pay top dollar
for property that they are going to have to do a lot of work on even before they get to the home.

Stress is one our major killers and sure fire way to get obese. Gardening will keep you fit and
healthy, besides a keeping your mind off of everyday problems that all of us have. You can relax in
the yard or garden by watering or weeding, or straigtening up the edges of your lawn or garden. You
can clean up around the fence line, this doesn't take a lot of manual labor but it will keep you
moving.

Also a well kept lawn or garden can get you to wanting to get out more in the yard. To enjoy the
beauty of the plants that are growing and thriving because of you. You will find it easier to get out
and enjoy outdoors when you maintain your yard and garden. Because when you sit on the couch you will get into a habit of sitting on the couch. When the work has to be done then you won't want to do it.

NOTE: If you have a lot of bare spots in your lawn, you will have more dust and have to clean your home more often than if your lawn is well maintained. Also you will lose precious top soil if the grass is missing. This means also that you will have to water more to keep the grass growing.

Always mow your lawn at least once a week. The more you mow your lawn the faster the grass will grow and thicken. Never let your grass grow to long because if you do the blades will not cut the grass but tear the grass and pull the roots loose. Besides it will dull the blades on your mower quicker.

A good well maintained lawn that is lush and full will cut your watering in half. Because the grass
will keep the soil from being baked from the sun. If the soil is baked then it dries out and the roots
don't have enough moister to keep growing. So you will have to water more than needed to keep the soil moist. Dry hard soil will inhibit root growth with in turn will slow grass growth. Also when the grass

is full and lush it will keep the air humidity around your home a little higher therefore it can reduce your electric bill. Because higher humidity doesn't warm as quickly as drier air.

Lush and full trees that get enough water will keep their leaves longer. This will in turn provide
more shade which will keep the temperature cooler. Be sure if tree limbs are overhanging the roof that you keep them trimmed back so they won't rub the roof. This can cause damage to the shingles.

Besides when you keep your yard and garden well maintained, this will give you confidence in your work that you did alone. It will make you proud of the work that it took to get it to looking good. This
will rub off on your job as well.

Now there are millions of excuses as to why you don't have time to do it. But I can always think of
one more reason why I need to.

One excuse is that I don't have time with the children and garden both. Well give the children their
own area to plant a bush, or plant of some kind. Do not let them handle chemicals of any kind while
they are young. But they can take care of their own plant or bush or tree. This will also get them
outside and use to working with the soil. Show them what good soil looks like and how to plant the
tree, bush, or flower bush. It will teach them good working habits at a young age. Show them how to
keep the grass and weeds out of their area.

NOTE: Always watch children if they are working with tools and always show them how to use these tools safely. Never take it for granted that they already know. Show them how to water and maintain their plants. How to put mulch and compost around their plants to cover the soil so it won't dry out as
fast. Children always want to help their parents do whatever they are doing. This will also give you
and them interaction with each other.

NOTE: When children are working in soil be sure they wear long sleeves and pants. Study and then teach your children the difference between the good insects and bad insects in the garden. This will be a learning experience for both you and the children. It will keep them busy and you can keep an eye on them while doing your work.

Now if you are really proud of your lawn and garden, you can show it off to the neighbors and friends,
or send photos to a garden magazine. They will pay you for them if they use them. You could also take pictures before and after. This will give the magazines a good reference point on how good you are. Put pictures of your lawn and garden on a blog.

Jesse Auburg Online Marketing Entrepreneur
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Lawn Mower Maintenance

2010-08-22T16:44:00.000-05:00

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.

Cylinder Mowers
All kidding aside there are different types of mowers for different types of grasses. The one I grew up with was called a cylnder mower. It had no motor, and the faster you pushed it the faster it would cut. It ususally had six to eight blades that cut blades by trapping the grass between the blades and the steel foot. The blades are curved so that on a portion of each blade was touching the foot at one time. As the blades ran across the foot the foot would act as a hone and sharpen the blades as you cut. The foot had to be carefully repositioned to keep the blades sharp. Then they were modernized and had bag attachments on the rear that you could catch the grass clippings.

To set the height of the grass cut, you would adjust the height of the wheels. This was done with screws on the axel of the mower.

If you really want your grass to look nice then this is the lawn mower that will get it done as long as the blades are sharp. Besides it will keep you in shape as well. As far as I am concerned this mower will leave your yard the best looking yard on the block.

Rotary Mowers
Next comes along the rotary mower, this mower greatly reduced the amount of labor of cutting the grass. Most of the time you just had to push the mower to get it to cut the grass. The motor would do the rest. But with this mower you have to check the oil just about everytime you filled it with fuel. They usually last about 5 years if you take care of them and keep them out of the weather when not in use.

You can extend the life of these mowers by changing the oil every year. This is fairly simple to do by pulling the plug at the bottom of the crankcase and letting the oil drain into a pan. If you do change the oil be sure to check the old oil for steel shavings in it. You can do this with a magnet. Just run the magnet through the oil and it will collect any shavings that is suspended in the oil. Be sure to run the magnet on the bottom of the pan for the heavier shavings. When you start getting a lot of shavings in your oil, you might want to consider investing in another mower.

Also to keep your mower running longer is to keep the blade sharp. You can tilt the mower on its side, but I don't recommend this method. Because it causes oil to run into the top of the motor. This will cause increased smoking and probably ruin the plug. Ususally the bolt head holding the blade in place. They can be 5/8" to 3/4" in diameter. Loosen and remove the bolt and take the blade off.

When inspecting the blade you will notice that only approximately 6" to 8" inches of the blade has an edge. You will want to use a file or electric grinder to refinish this edge again. This will reduce the amount of work that the motor has to do. (ONE IMPORTANT RULE) When inspecting the blade make sure the blade is the same length from the center hole. This keeps the blade balanced and from wobbeling and wearing out the bearings in the motor.

There are two different types of blades that you can choose from. One is a cutting blade and the other is a mulching blade. The cutting blade is used for just cutting the grass and then raking the clippings up with a rake. The mulching blade will cut the grass much finer and you can leave these in the lawn where it will eventually breakdown and return nutrients into the lawn.

Be sure to drain out any gas remaining in the tank when putting the mower away for the winter. This gas if left in the tank and carburetor will turn to a gummy state. This will plug up the jets in the carburator. This will make the mower hard if not impossible to start the next spring.

Riding Mowers

NEVER OPERATE THIS MACHINERY WITHOUT FIRST READING AND UNDERSTANDING THE SAFETY AND OPERATION MANUALS.

These mowers are very easy to operate when operated in the correct way. But they can also be very dangeous to operate when safety rules are not followed.

All riding mowers have safety functions built into them to keep them from being operated in unsafe manner. Never bypass these safety measures in order to run these machines.

When performing maintenance on the mowers, be sure to remove the key from the ignition, and remove the power cable from the battery. This will ensure that someone doesn't accidently start the engine while it is being worked on.

Before you start cutting grass, be sure to clean off the mowing deck of the grass and dirt that has accumulated both on the top and underside of the mower deck. When performing this procedure sometimes it is easier to remove the deck from the mower. Usually this is easily accomplished by removing the leveling bolts at the rear of the deck and the front is usually just hinged. Then you can pull the belt off of the towers. Then turn the deck over and clean all the old grass from underneath the deck. Usually I just wait until my blades need to be sharpened and while I have them off then I take a putty knife and clean the underside of the deck. Then I put the blades back on and I am ready to go.

Most newer mowers are equipped with lights on the front, but I discourage the use of them at night. This can be very dangerous because you are not able to see as well. But it is wise to keep them working, so that other people can see you in the evening hours. Be sure to wipe the dust and dirt off the plastic lenses.

Be sure to check the belts on the mower regularly. These belts should be replaced when they start cracking or slipping. To replace the belts on these mowers you usually just have to disengage the belt drive lever. This will introduce enough slack to slip the old belt off, and slip the new belt on. Be sure to keep all dirt and grass clippings off the top of the deck. This can get trapped in the mechinisms that engage and disengage the belt for the blades.

You need to keep the air pressure in the tires to optimim pressure. This will increase your fuel savings, decrease tire wear. Also it will help your mower to cut the grass evenly. Also you need to pull the wheels off of your mower before starting the mowing season. Clean the axels and regrease them each year. You need to patch any tires that are leaking. I usually buy that plugging liquid that comes in the bottle and put it in my tires then start mowing. I have a lot of goatheads in my yard these are stickers that have thick thorns on them. They will puncture a tire especially the ones on lawn mowers. So I go through about two bottles a year in my tires. It works great and I don't have to spend a bundle on patches.

Be sure to keep sharp blades on your mower. I keep two sets of blades for my mowers. I always have clean sharp blades for my mowers at arms reach all the time. So I can change them out when needed. This will cut down on the time I need to perform maintenance. I always clean my mower after each use so I don't have to do it before I start cutting. Besides if you do it this way, it doesn't leave dirt and grass clippings to set up and become part of the mower. It's just easier to clean it when you finish cutting the grass.

NEVER OPERATE THIS MOWER WITH ADULTS OR CHILDREN IN THE AREA. THIS MACHINE CAN CAUSE BODILY INJURY VERY EASILY.

When mowing never run over loose gravel or rocks. The blades can pick these objects up and cause body injury. Never backup when mowing unless first you look back and down first.

ALWAYS CHECK YOUR MOWER FOR ANY LOOSE PARTS BEFORE USING. THE MOWERS PRODUCE A LOT OF VIBRATION, WHICH CAN LOOSEN PART OVER TIME.

Electric Mowers

Electric mowers are a clean evironmentally safe way to cut your grass. It eliminates the need to keep gas and oil around for a gas mower.

Electric mowers are quiet and you don't have to breathe in fumes from the exhaust of gas mowers. Most of the time you have to go to the gas station and get fresh gas to run you gas mowers. You don't have to go to the auto store to get motor oil. You don't have to change plugs on an electric mower. You don't have to clean an air filter, or have the mower tuned up to run correctly.

Never perform maintenance on your electric mower while it is plugged in. If it has a safety key remove it as well. These mowers usually start very fast when plugged in and the key is in place. Besides other people might turn it on accidentally.

Be sure to clean the under part of the deck before using each time. Even if the grass is dry when cutting it. The grass will still have moisture in it and this will cause it to stick to the under part of the deck. When there is grass stuck on the underside of the deck this

will disrupt the air flow under the mower and the mower will not cut grass evenly. Also this grass tends to stick and then turn loose from the vibration of the mower. This will fall down into the blades and can be slung out from under the mower. This grass balls as I call them can strike people, pets, cars, houses, and anything else.

NEVER CUT WET GRASS: Wet grass has a tendacy to stick underneath the deck worse than dry grass. Also wet grass is dangerous in case of the electric cords being damaged accidently. Always remember that water and electricity is never a good combination.

Always use an electric cord that is rated to carry the current for that particular mower. Never use a smaller electric cord this will cause damage to the cord and mower. using a smaller cord will cause the motor to run less than its optimal speed. This will cause it to work harder and also cost more to mow your lawn. Never use a cord that has been damaged by the wires being cut. Even if you splice the wires back, the splice will cause it to overheat at the splice.

Never leave your electric mower out in the weather. Most of these mowers are not water proof even if they say they are. It is not good to leave any mower out in the weather for extended periods of time. The sun will cause the paint and plastic to warp and crack. If your electric mower has a battery. It is a good idea to put the battery on a charger if not used for extended periods of time. These chargers are usually trickle down chargers so they won't overcharge the battery.

Now to the blades on an electric mower. These like any other blades need to be sharp and balanced. A dull blade will make the mower work harder therefore it will shorten the life of the mower motor. An unbalanced blade will cause unnecessary vibration and will shorten the life of the mower. Depending on the size and how often you mow your lawn will dictate as how often you will need to sharpen and change the blade. Usually on an average size lawn sharpening the blade once a season will be enough. But if you have foreign objects in the lawn such as toys, bones, sprinkler heads, sticks, or you don't mow until the grass is over length then you will probably have to sharpen the blade more often. With electric mowers you should probably mow at least once a week. Depending on how fast your grass grows.

One thing with electric mowers they require less maintenance than a gas mower in some cases, but require more maintenance in other areas.

When using an electric mower, always keep the mower inside a climate controlled area. Extreme heat and cold can kill a battery. Extreme moisture can ruin a motor in no time. Sun can kill the paint on the deck of the mower which will lead to rust.

Tips for Natural Gardens

2010-07-14T18:01:00.001-05:00

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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One of the best things you can do two to four weeks before planting is to compost your garden. This will give it time to let nutrients start seeping into the soil.

When planting in a new bed of soil, you really need to either till or disc up the ground to break it up good. This will put more air into the soil and let roots grow faster than in compacted soil.

After mixing in compost and/or fertilizer the soil needs to soaked well with water several times. This will start the compost and/or fertilizer working on the soil to release the nutrients into the soil.

The best way to prevent pests from damaging your plants is with healthy soil. This will encourage the plants to strong and fast. These plants will be able to resist the damage caused by pests and disease.

Using organic fertilizers are the best to use on vegetable gardens. These types of fertilizers don't leave chemical residues in the soil. Which plants and grass can soak up.

One way to minimize watering trees is to plant a plastic pipe in the ground around the trees about a foot deep. I use 4" pvc sewer pipe. This already has holes drilled into the pipe. This will let the water seep into the ground at different levels. This will also keep evaporation down to a minimum and gets the water to the roots of the trees.

One of the worst things to do in the winter months is not to water trees, lawn, and annual plants. These need water year around. This will keep the soil moist and nutrients loose so roots can get to them.

You can soak finished compost in water, this will make a "tea". This "tea" will be rich in nutrients that can be readily soaked up by plants and trees. This will give your plants and trees a kick start to the growing season.

Some specialty plants need warmer climates to do well. If you live in a cooler climates you might have to shelter these plants. Putting these plants by walls can act as a solar panel. These walls can soak up heat during the day and release this heat in the night which might be enough to get them through the night.

When watering container plants, if outdoors these usually need to be watered everyday. Because it has limited space in which to hold moisture.

When transplanting plants or trees, be sure to water the hole well before putting the plants in the soil. This will add additional moisture in the soil and reduces the stress on the plants. Also you might put some coffee grounds in the hole to add nutrients for the plants.

To keep pest away from plants you can use eggshells. Just break them up into small pieces and deposit them around the plants. Be sure to wash the eggshells with soap and warm water before breaking them. This will remove the film inside the shells. Making the shells easier to break into smaller pieces.

When planting seeds. The best way is to start them is in small containers then after they mature, you can transplant them into the garden.

When the seeds are first planted you will have to keep the soil moist at all times. Be sure to monitor the seeds once or twice a day. When the seeds sprout and break the top of the soil, you will need to keep the roots moist. Never pour water into a container plants. This will compact the soil and could wash soil off of the shallow roots.

When planting seeds in potting soil, be sure to check the soil regularly because this type of soil is lightweight and will dry out quickly.

When planting in clay soil make sure the soil doesn't get to hot. Clay will absorb heat of direct sunlight. Also clay will hold moisture for a long time. Be sure not to over water when using clay soil.
The best way to check the moisture is with your fingers or you can get a good moisture detector.

Use a trellis when planting vining plants. This will save space and your back from bending over and digging through the plants to find the vegetables. Vining vegetables are squash, melons, cucumbers, cantelopes, and egg plants to name a few. You can train these vining plants to run the trellis and this will make finding the vegetables.

I like to run my vines on netting, this makes it easy to reach through the net and pick the vegetables.

Watering your plants early in the morning or late in the evening. This will help in saving water. When watering in the heat of the day will cause more evaporation to occur.

Be very careful when using pesticides in the garden or lawn. Because these pesticides will be absorbed into the plants. When using these pesticides make sure to read the label and make sure they are safe for use on plants that produce edible fruit or vegetables. Some pesticides can accumulate in the soil making them more toxic after several uses. The pesticides can leech into the drinking water also.

When choosing plants and trees for your property, be sure to pick ones that grow well in your climate. You can grow other plants and trees, but remember that they will take more care to get and keep them healthy.

Do not use garden soil as a potting soil in containers. These soils have different quality and texture. Garden soil may not drain properly when used in containers. Some types of garden soils can contain seeds of weeds, diseases, and insects in them.

When planting your plants keep in mind that some plants don't like all day sunlight. If this is the case then you might want to consider in planting them where there will be partial shade.

Most plants like morning sun rather than evening sun. They say that the morning sun is more beneficial to growing plants and trees.

A good rule of thumb in transplanting plants. Wait until there are at least two pairs of leaves on the plant. Then either plant in a larger container or in the ground. Take plants outdoors for a few hours each day (at least three to four days) to let them get used to being outside before transplanting.
(Never pull on stems of plants to remove them from containers. If possible squeeze the container and work the soil loose from the sides of the container. If not you will either have to cut or break the container.

Use a good organic mulch or compost to top dress your soil around the plants. This will reduce dehydration of plants and return nutrients into the soil.

Never use more than 50% amendments in your soil. A good rule of thumb is about 20% to 30% admendment. This will keep the nutrients flowing and keep soil from losing moisture.

If you live in colder climates they say not to fertilize or compost in the winter months. This is not the case in West Texas. With a few precautions you can usually grow year around.

When using pesticides be very careful not to use any that will harm beneficial insects. Such as ladybugs, spiders, praying mantis, red worms (night crawlers), and other insects. These types of insects are very beneficial to your plants. They will keep the pests away while not harming your
plants.

When planting seeds in the garden. Be sure to keep a watchful eye on them after they break the surface. Then start gently to remove over planting. This will give the additional space needed for the other plants to grow healthy and strong.

You can control mildew by spraying a mixture of 1 part milk and 9 parts water. Spray the leaves with this mixture.

Watch your leaves on plants and trees. If these aren't getting enough water they will start shedding leaves. This is a sure sign that you need to water them more. Or find out why they aren't getting enought water or what is stressing the plants or trees.

When starting seeds in containers, you don't have to go buy expensive containers. You can use almost anything that will hold soil and your seed. You can use milk cartons, disposable coffee cups, ketchup bottles, and so much more. Just make sure there are holes in the bottom of the container for excess water to drain.

Compost is not a fertilizer but it does have nutrients beneficial to plant growth. It will put organic matter in the soil which will hold moisture and nutrients into the soil.

You can use coffee grounds and tea bags to make a mulch around acid loving plants. This will also prevent weeds from coming up around your plants. When you have a longer growing season like in West Texas you will have to keep mulching throughout the year. This mulch will dry out and loose its ability to protect properly. You can also use newpapers in preventing weeds from growing. Be sure to find out if the ink in the newpapers are made out of organic minerals. (Don't use paper that has protective coatings or magazines.)

When starting seeds and growing plants in a greenhouse, you need to keep your greenhouse as clean as your home. Be sure to clean all containers before using. Use soapy water and disinfectant in your containers. Let stand for at least 24 hours befor using. Using contaminated containers will invite disease and weak plants. Which will result in less than satisfactory results.

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When you have Caliche in your Soil

2010-07-13T14:29:00.003-05:00

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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Caliche can cause major problems in the yard or garden. It can pack so tightly that the roots cannot penetrate this layer. This results in roots that are shallow and therefore limited to the nutrients, moisture and air in the top portion of the soil. The plant roots laying on this layer will also soak up the salt deposits in the roots and cause problems also.

Caliche can also cause root rot because this layer is virtually waterproof. It won't let the water drain thru it so the roots will stay wet.

Caliche usually has high pH balance and also robs the ground of iron and will cause a yellowing of the leaves of the grass and plants. Thus causing the plants and grass because of shallow root systems to die off quickly and generally have poor growth.

How to get around the caliche problem.

GRASS
You can dig the soil up and see how much soil you have to work with. This will be labor intensive but will give you a good idea of what your soil is made up of. If you have six to eight inches of soil above the caliche then you should be alright to plant grass. If it is less than six inches then you will either need to add more top soil or compost or peat moss to your soil. This will add bulk to your soil and increase the space above the caliche.

PLANTS
When planting plants you will need at the minimum of twelve inches. Eighteen inches would be even better. You can either add more compost, peat moss to the top soil.

TREES
You will want to dig as much of the caliche out in the area where you want to plant the tree. If you can get thru the caliche where the roots can grow the better off the tree will grow. If getting thru the caliche is a problem then you will want to dig down as far as it is practical and fill the bottom of the hole with wood chips, peat moss, compost and top soil to keep the roots from laying on the caliche.

The diameter of the hole should be at least three times the size of the root ball. The bigger the better. You will not want to replace the soil and caliche back into the hole. You can discard the soil somewhere else. Then fill the hole with fresh top soil. This will give the tree a good head start. (You don't have to dig all the caliche out of the hole if it is very thick, you can dig a cone shaped hole thru the caliche. This will allow water to drain down and away from the root system).

You can test the water drainage of the hole. By checking with the County Extension Agent. He/she can give you the adequate drainage formula for your area. Usually you can figure that if you partially fill the hole with water and the water drops 2 inches in 2 hours. Then the drainage is adequate. Now depending on the size of the hole in the bottom will vary the drainage.

SUMMARY
1. Caliche can cause plant growth problems by:
Restricting root penetration.
Restricting water penetration, resulting in poor root aeration and potential salt accumulations.
Causing iron to become unavailable to the plants.

2. If possible, remove the caliche before planting. Make planting holes large enough for a mature root system.
3. Before planting, make certain water drains from the planting hole.
4. Replace the caliche with good top soil or a soil mix. Discard the caliche.
5. Lawns should be grown only where there are at least eight inches of good top soil above the caliche.

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Areating Your Lawn Tips

2010-06-16T20:02:00.007-05:00

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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The reason why you need to aerate your lawn is simple. Aeration is simply putting hole down into the soil. This will open up the soil and allow oxygen, water, and nutrients into the soil where roots can use them effectively.
When your grass gets the nutrients, water, and oxygen it needs. It will have no problem looking healthy and great. Thus increasing the worth of your property. People will want to look at great healthy lawns.

The word AERATION means "to supply with air". Soil that has been compacted by high traffic and poor drainage will suffocate the roots system. It will actually cost more to maintain a compacted soil lawn than it would that has been aerated.

Soil that has been compacted will inhibit the roots from growing and finding fresh nutrients, water, and oxygen. This will inhibit the grass from being as healthy as it could be. This will mean that you will have to keep fertilizing and watering more often. This will also mean that your lawn will burn when it gets in the hot and dry periods of the year.

Soil aeration might have to be done two to three times a year depending on your soil type, drainage, and foot traffic. When soil is already compacted it tends to stay compacted until it is broken up by some means. Either tilling, plowing, or some type of core aeration.

You can rent a core or spike aerator or buy one. But I wouldn't recommend buying one unless your planning on going in business of aerating lawns. You can rent them for reasonable rates usually by the day at any lawn and garden center.

If you are still not sure about the soil being compacted you can take stick or steel rod (I use a 1/2 inch steel rod) but you could use a 3/8 inch stick or rod to push down into wet soil to see how far it will go. If you can push the stick or steel rod down about two inches then the soil is fine. Further the better. But if you have to stand on the instrument to get it penetrate the soil.

There are several spike methods out on the market. The spike method will just punch a hole into the soil which is fine. Except that it will compact the soil around the hole. Using the core method of aerating, this removes a 3/8 inch core of soil and punches it out on the ground.

This is true aerating, the only problem with this method is that it will leave the cores on the lawn. It doesn't look very pretty and that's why I recommend doing it in the fall after the grass has stopped growing. This way you can core aerate and fertilize the lawn when it really doesn't need it.

Then the next spring when the grass starts growing again the grass will have a head start with all the nutrients, oxygen, and water it needs to get started.

Now you don't have to core aerate every year but it would be wise to spike aerate every year. Your soil can never be too loose. Because this will encourage the roots to grow faster and stronger.

Like I said there are several ways to spike your lawn. You can get a little trailer spike that you pull with your riding lawn mower. You can get spikes that strap on to your shoes and just walk around. You can use a hay fork to spike the lawn.

Using the core aerator you might want to shop around to find a professional lawn service to come and aerate your lawn. Don't stop at just one, find several if you can. Then go with the one of your choice.Be sure to leave the cores on the lawn they will disappear over the winter. This will release nutrients back into the soil.

If the cores don't disappear after winter thawing then when you mow the first time especially if you use a mulching blade. Sandy soil might only need to be aerated once a year. Because the sand is loose to begin with. But watch out for poor drainage and where water tends to pool easily. This ground will become compacted even though it is sand.

You should aerate your soil when you overseed your lawns. Overseeding will get down and start growing faster when you aerate. When you overseed you are planting new grass this will make your grass thicker and help close up bare spots you might have. You should aerate your lawn before overseeding because it could cut the roots of the new grass which has not had time to get the depth it needs. This grass might not recover.

Most seeds comes with its own covering of fertilizer. So be sure if you use this type of seed not to fertilize with another fertilizer. This might cause you to over fertilize which will result in burning. The package that the seed comes in should tell you whether or not it has its own fertilizer covering. Usually the covering is a greenish blue color.

Be sure to water before and after aerating your soil. This will let the core stems to penetrate deeper and making it easier to aerate. Watering after aeration will help moisture get down to the roots where its needed.

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Caring for Your Lawn

2010-05-26T10:27:00.001-05:00

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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To ensure that every drop of water you provide goes deep into the soil, where it's needed most. Is to use a solution of:

1 cup of baby shampoo
1 can of beer
1/2 cup of ammonia (take extra care when handling)

Mix these ingredients in a 20 gallon hose-end sprayer and fill the jar the rest of the way with water. Then spray on your lawn to the point of run-off. This will keep your lawn growing and looking good.

How Often to Mow
There is no set schedule as to when to mow your lawn, there are many factors in play that dictates when to mow and how often you should mow your grass.

Never mow the grass in the heat of the day. Always mow in the late afternoon, or early evening hours. This will lessen the stress on the grass.

Never mow wet grass, because the moisture will cause the grass to lay down causing an uneven cut. Cutting wet grass will dull your mower blades faster.

Depending on what type of grass that you have, because different grasses grow at the different rates, at different times of the growing season.

Usually mowing weekly will cover most needs. If it's hot and dry then you might mow bi-weekly. Because the grass grow rate will slow down. Also Zoysia is a slow growing grass. Where Bermuda is a fairly fast growing grass.

It depends on how large your mower is. If you have a 20"inch mower, it's going to take you more passes to mow your lawn. If you have a 40"inch mower, this will cut the passes down considerably.

Keep Mower Blades Sharp
Dull mower blades make jagged unclean cuts that will pull the roots and can leave grass at risk for developing disease or being damaged by the sun. The unhealthy grass can turn gray or brown and potentially kill the grass. So be sure and keep your mower blades sharp to keep your grass happy and healthy.

It's hard to tell you when to sharpen the blades. But you should be able to tell when your blades are getting dull.

Your engine will start working harder to cut the lawn. The mower will start using more fuel to cut the same amount of area.

Change Directions When Mowing
It's easy to fall into a habit of mowing your lawn in the same way everytime. It's usually easier to mow in a straight line than to change your pattern of mowing.
When you do it over and over again your grass will start growing that way. If you change the direction of mowing, this will give you a better looking lawn.

Cutting Grass is Not Equal
During the growing season, you should always follow the 1/3rd rule. Never cut more than 1/3rd of the grass height at one time. This is why you should never neglect cutting your grass at regular intervals.

The longer the grass the more times that you will have to cut it. When you let it grow too much, the grass will tend to wrap around the blades and will pull on the grass instead of cutting it. This is hard on the grass and the blades of the mower.

How High to Leave the Grass
Don't cut your grass to low. This will cause it to turn brown and have a shallow root system.

Fine fescue should be cut no lower than 2"inches. You should cut it at 3"inches.
Kentucky bluegrass should be cut no lower than 2"inches. You should cut it at 3"inches.

Bermuda should be cut no lower than 1" to 1 1/2"inches. You should cut it at approximately 3"inches.

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Everything You Need To Know about Fertilizers

2010-05-11T14:52:00.005-05:00

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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Organic or Living FertilizerThe reason I say living is because this fertilizer has living microorganisms living in it. Which is good for the soil and roots of the plants. Which in turn is good for the plants, and the fruits and vegetables that they grow.

Manures:
I like using animal manure, because I can usually get if for nothing. All I did was drive around for a little bit and found some places that had horses, goats, cows, or chickens. Most of the time they will be happy for you to take it off their hands.

I like horse and cow manure the best because they eat a lot of weeds, grass, or hay. Cows have the best digested food because they will as they say (chew the cud) which is recycling the grasses and hay that they eat. Horses have a tendency to half way chew there food, so you will get a lot of vegetation with their manure.

You can use pig manure only if they are fed vegetarian foods. But you have to be careful becasue pigs will eat meat also. This would not be good for your soil or plants. Just like dog or cat manure. I could give you all the scientific reasons why, and I will if you ask in the comment section.

Good Sources of Nitrogen are: cottonseed, alfalfa, fish emulsion.
Good Sources of phosphorus are: poultry manure, rock phosphorus, bonemeal.
Good Sources of potassium granite meal, kelp meal, dairy manure.

But if you are a newbie to gardening I would suggest sticking to the horse and cow manures, When using these manures, I always pile it up into a pile and wet it down cover it with a plastic painters cloth, or tarp. Then let it sit for about six to eight weeks. Turning the pile at least once a week. Be sure to keep the pile damp. This will cook the pile and any seeds that are in the manure. This will kill the seeds and they won't germinate. If you don't do this the seeds will start growing again, then you will have to deal with unwanted plants in your yard or garden.

There are many nutrients in your soil already, there is nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, salt, and in my case cliche'. These nutrients are vital for the plants to grow healthy and strong. Using compost will put these nutrients back into the soil. You can use eggshells for calcium. You can take these eggshells and crush them and soak them in water overnight. The next morning you can take this and pour on your plants. The plants will soak the calcium up in no time. You can also use the crushed eggshells in the garden by just sprinkling them around your plants. This will discourage soft skinned insects from crawling on your plants.

Compost Tea:

You can also use a compost tea, which is made up from organic materials. Take some compost and put it in a bucket or pot, then add water and let it sit for a few days. The water will turn dark from the nutrients in the water. Then pour this tea on your plants. They will love it, better than just plain water. If you want to give it an added kick, then put some manure into the tea.

TIP: I use a 5 gallon plastic bucket, drill a 1/2 inch hole in the side of the bucket. Then I glue (use water resistant glue) a kc nipple and valve into the hole. I then attach a 1/2 inch plastic drip hose on the kc nipple. I run the 1/2 inch plastic hose down the row of my garden. Then I poke holes into the drip hose where my plants are located. I do this for each of my rows. I built a bench to hold the buckets about three feet off the ground. This will gravity feed the tea down the hose and water the plants over time. All I have to do is fill the buckets with fresh tea when my plants need a drink. When the buckets run dry, just turn off the valves and refill the buckets. Add a little manure and compost in the buckets to keep the tea flowing.

You can find more information on my blog about composting.

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How to Plant Onion Sets for Table Onions

2010-05-02T12:04:00.001-05:00

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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Step 1
As you turn over the soil in your garden to a depth of 8 to 12" inches. You need to add compost in a ratio of about 1 to 1 into the soil and mix it thoroughly . Your soil pH should be between 5.5 to 7.0. Onion sets have shallow roots systems, so be sure to remove all grass and weeds prior to planting. This will ensure the onion sets will thrive and not have to compete with other roots.

Step 2
I like to use a tiller in the soil and when I have the soil loosened and mixed thoroughly, I will dig small holes with a salad fork that I found. It's just about the right size to form the holes about 1 to 2" inches in depth and about 1" to 2" inches apart. Depending on how much you have to plant. The salad fork will not compact the earth while digging and planting.

Step 3
You will need to sort your onion sets by their size. Onions smaller than a 1/2" you should set aside because these can be grown into larger onions. The onions larger than this should be planted because these onions will often form a seed stalk. Planting bulb sets to early when it's to cold will cause them to produce seed stalks also. This is according to Texas A&M University Extension.

Step 4
Plant an onion bulb in each hole, pointy side up. Cover over with soil and pat it down lightly.

Step 5
It is important to water onions regularly, but don't over water them. If water starts to pool or it takes a long time for the water to be absorbed, this is a sign to stop watering. Then you should start seeing your onion shoots in a couple of weeks.

Step 6

Harvest table onions anytime after 2/3rds of the tops have fallen over, according to Texas A&M University Extension . Larger table onions will have more intense flavor. Harvest fresh just before you want to use them for best taste. All parts except the roots are edible.

Things You'll Need

    * Shovel
    * Compost
    * Onion sets
    * Trowel or Salad Fork

References

   * Texas A&M University Extension: Plant Answers-Onions
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Happy Gardening and May All Your Plants Bloom Beautifully.

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Growing Good Tomatoes

2010-04-25T22:56:00.007-05:00

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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When I am transplanting my tomatoes I like to put about a couple of tablespoons of coffee grounds into the hole then sit the plants in and fill the hole with water. This ensures that the roots will not only get a good drink of water in their new home, but also the coffee grounds will add nutrients to the root system so start growing without to much stress. Also when I have them transplanted I will have broken eggshells to sprinkle around the new plants to discourage insects.

When your plant gets it's full height, a good idea is to remove all of the leaves and flowers from the bottom 2/3 rds. of the stems. These stems don't produce very good tomato's and drain needed nutrients from the rest of the plant. This will produce better tomato's over the rest of the plant. Also remove any sucker stems that begin growing. These sucker stems will not produce any tomato's and will use up nutrients also.Besides you don't want the tomato's to come into contact with the soil because mildew has a better chance of forming on the lower tomato's.

Be sure to water your tomato plants well and regularly to keep from getting blossom end rot. They will require less watering once the tomatoes begin to ripen. This will give you better tasting tomato's.

After maturity try cutting back on the watering by a third, but still water regularly. If you notice that the plants are starting to wilt or stressed because of the reduced watering. Increase the water back to normal. Depending on the rainfall, I usually have to water about every third day or so. I live in West Texas, so the water dries up pretty quickly here.

When it doesn't rain for a couple of weeks to a month. I will increase watering to every other day. Some summers I have had to water as much as every day for a week to get the soil moisture back up again. Then reduce back to every other day after a weeks worth of watering. You can also put mulch around your tomato plants to reduce evaporation.

If you live where there is more humidity, then you might just have to water twice a week. No matter where you live, I would suggest that you invest in a moisture meter. They are relatively cheap and easy to use. You can get them at any garden center. Keep it handy to be sure that your soil has enough moisture to sustain optimum growth of your plants.

Be sure to keep the soil loosened so that oxygen can get to down in the soil to the root system. It also lets moisture seep down to the roots. This also encourages root growth, the better the root system the stronger the plants will be.

I like to use eggshells around the base of my tomato plants to discourage insects and coffee grounds

to add nutrients into the soil. I throw my coffee filters into the compost pile and let them return to their natural state also.

If you have a lot of insects invading your garden, then invest in lady bugs, frogs, and praying mantis'. These also reduce the need for insecticides that you would have to use. These measures are great for the gardens and will keep the insect population down considerably.

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Wooden Pallet Composting Bin

2010-04-02T18:33:00.005-05:00

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

Building a Wooden Pallet Bin
1. Assembly is easy, just screw or wire three of the pallets together.
2. Attach bolt latches to the front edge of the bin and the last pallet to make a removable door.

Stand three of the pallets up to form a three-sided box. Screw, bolt, or wire them together. The easiest is wiring them together. Depending on what type of wood the pallets are made of. The pallets are usually pine, or oak. They also come a variety of sizes.

Tip for West Texas Composter's
For West Texas and other dry climates, this bin should be lined with plastic. This helps keep the pile moist and decrease the composting time.

Staple a sheet of plastic to the three sides of the bin and staple a separate plastic sheet to the front door.

Variations
This bin can be easily converted into a two bin system using just 6 pallets. In a two bin system, the compost is turned by emptying the full bin into the empty one and back again.

If you have lots of compost material you could expand it to a three-bin system using 10 pallets. You build a pile in the first bin turning it into the second and then the third.

If you don't want to build a compost bin, you can also buy bins from the internet, hardware stores, garden supply centers, and other places.

There are many different types of compost bins on the market, and they range in price as well. You can use 4 posts and chicken wire or hog panel wire. This like the pallet method will let in plenty of fresh air and moisture to help the decaying process.

Happy Gardening and May All Your Plants Bloom Beautifully.

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All About Composting

2010-03-30T00:01:00.003-05:00

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.

WHAT MATERIALS CAN I COMPOST?
Most plant material can be used for compost. Trimmings from your landscape, such as fallen leaves, mesquite beans, even weeds, and leaves, grass clippings, flowers and the remains of garden plants make excellent compost. Compost made from grass clippings treated with herbicides and pesticides is not recommended for use in vegetable gardens.

Kitchen scraps, such as fruit and vegetable peels and trimmings, crushed eggshells, tea bags, banana peels, potato skins, onion, cantaloupe, water melon rinds, and coffee grounds and filters can also be composted. Woody yard trimmings can be run through a shredder before adding to the compost pile. Sawdust may be added in moderate amounts if additional nitrogen is applied. Add a pound of actual nitrogen per 100 pounds of dry sawdust. CAUTION: Do not use treated lumber sawdust in your compost pile.

WHAT MATERIALS SHOULD I AVOID ADDING TO MY COMPOST PILE?
Organic materials that should not be added to your compost pile include meat, bones and fatty foods (such as cheese, butter, margarine, salad dressing and leftover cooking oil). Do not add pet or human wastes to a compost pile.

High levels of heat is produced in the center of the compost pile can kill many pests, such as weeds with seeds and diseased or insect-infested plants. However, it is next to impossible to mix the contents thoroughly enough to bring all the wastes to the center, so some disease organisms may be returned to the garden with the compost.

"ESSENTIALS" OF COMPOSTING
Organic materials for composting all contain nutrients that provide energy and growth for microorganisms.

These organic materials each have their own ratio of carbon to nitrogen (C:N) in their tissues . These C:N ratios are important because the tiny organisms need about 1 part of nitrogen for every 30 parts of carbon in the organic material. Most gardeners want the pile to stink just a little, to ensure that they have enough nitrogen in the pile to speed up the decaying process.

Leaves, straw and sawdust are high in carbon.
While grass clippings, manure and vegetable scraps are higher in nitrogen.
It helps to think of these materials as greens and browns.
Greens, such as grass clippings, are high in nitrogen.
Browns, such as leaves or sawdust, contain high amounts of carbon.

Any organic material will decay as long as the Carbon to Nitrogen mixture is right. But when the Carbon ratio is too high the longer it will take for it to decay. When you get the correct ratio of Carbon to Nitrogen it will take just weeks for you to reap the benefits of compost.

Sawdust will take years to decay by itself. But if you add greens to the sawdust it will decay much faster. Because you are adding Nitrogen to it.

THE SURFACE AREA OF THE COMPOST PILE:
More surface area means more the organisms have to work with. This in turns means the material will decompose faster. Also the larger the compost pile is the more it will insulate itself and hold the heat inside. The smaller the trimmings, and material also means faster decaying. I start a little pile and then spread it out, then I use my lawnmower to chopped into smaller pieces. Or you can go green and use a hoe, or shovel to chop the material up. They also have residential and commercial shredders that you can rent or buy.

Browns = High Carbon C:N

Ashes, wood 25:1
Cardboard, shredded 350:1
Corn stalks 75:1
Fruit waste 35:1
Leaves 60:1
Newspaper, shredded 175:1
Peanut shells 35:1
Pine needles 80:1
Sawdust 325:1
Straw 75:1
Wood chips 400:1

Greens = High Nitrogen C:N

Alfalfa 12:1
Clover 23:1
Coffee grounds 20:1
Food waste 20:1
Garden waste 30:1
Grass clippings 20:1
Hay 25:1
Manures 15:1
Seaweed 19:1
Vegetable scraps 25:1
Weeds 30:1

MOISTURE AND AERATION
The organisms in the compost pile need moisture and air in order to survive. This doesn't mean to flood the pile with water but about as wet as a moist sponge, (not dripping). If you keep the pile to wet, then it won't be able to heat up enough start the decaying process, besides it will suffocate the organisms. Turn the pile after you wet it down to distribute the water evenly throughout the pile.

KNOWING WHEN TO TURN THE PILE!
When the temperature reaches around 130 degrees to 140 degrees, or when the pile starts to fall, then it is time to water the pile and turn it over. I keep adding to one end of my pile while I use the other end. I realize that some might not have that much room to do this. So start one pile and get it to cooking, then start a second pile. When you have used up what was in the first pile then use the second pile. But start another pile where the first was. Some gardeners use four posts with chicken or hog wire to make a pen. Some use barrels, and some gardeners use a composting bin that rotates on a stand. All of the methods are good to use, and will get the material to composting.

Until next time there is nothing like getting your hands dirty.

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Using Eggshells in the Garden

2010-03-28T08:03:00.007-05:00

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.

Happy Gardening and May All Your Plants Bloom Beautifully
Jesse Auburg Online Marketing Entrepreneur
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Spring is here again – Garden Planting Time

2010-03-21T22:22:00.045-05:00

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 West Texas you can plant two different gardens each year, depending on what your are planting. The weather is very nice for growing for most of the year. Keeping up the weather forecast is very helpful in knowing ahead of time when a frost or freeze may damage or kill your plants.

One thing is very helpful to know is to find out what the soil is like in your area, whether it is sandy soil, if there a lot of clay mixed in it, or if it is mostly clay.

One way to find out what type of soil you have is to go to your Cooperative or County Extension agent, and ask for some sample bags, they come with instructions for your area.

You will gather some solid from different places on your property and fill the bags, seal them, and mail them back to where they will be analyzed and a report will be sent to you in a couple of weeks. This report will tell you what your soil is made up with. If you don't understand the report don't feel bad. Just take the report to the County Extension Agent and he/she can break it down for you. Because clay is a tightly packed soil, it holds moisture for a long time. Where as sandy soil is loose and lets the water run right through it. Which means that if you soil is sandy, you will have to water more often, unless you get a lot of rain, which we usually don't.

An easy way to test your soil is to take some in your hand and squeeze it. If it packs together then it's usually pretty much clay. But if it will not pack and stay packed is a sandy soil. You can do this test when you break the ground for your garden. There is a third type of soil called loam, it will pack together, but shatter easily if move around or tap with your finger. The perfect soil would be a mixture of all three soils. But if not, then you are going to have to mix in an amendment, called compost or fertilizer or other materials into the soil, to get it ready for planting.

You also need to find out what your pH is in your soil, the report will tell this information. You can also buy an inexpensive pH meter at any garden supply store, just put it in the ground and it will tell you what the pH level in the soil is.

1 is a low pH level.
14 is a high pH level.
7 being a neutral pH level.

If you are still lost on the pH thing, then go back to the County or Cooperative Extension Agent, he should be able to tell you what your soil will need. You can look in the phone book to find the number of your local County or Cooperative Extension Agent.

Once you know the pH of the soil you can add the amendments that it needs, such as compost, fertilizer, composted manure, peat moss, Lime, Sulfur, leaf mold, sawdust, (but caution with sawdust make sure that there is no cuttings from wood that has preservatives with CCA which turns the wood green in color, or stain, or polyurethane, or paint, paint can and does contain lead, which could leech into the soil and ultimately into the plants themselves.)

You can buy organic fertilizer at any garden center. It is best to do this in the late fall months so that the amendments have time to mellow out in the soil and do what they best. Which is turn ordinary soil into extraordinary soil, capable of growing anything.

In the winter months you can start your composting by raking all of ther grass clippings, leaves, sticks, banana peels, coffee grounds, tea grounds, stickers, weeds, wood chips, fom the wood being chopped for the fire place or barbeque pit, lettuce leaf, cabbage, or any other organic materials into
your compost pile, (DO NOT USE dog or cat manure, in your compost pile, or any manure that the animal consumes meat, grease). Grease will putrefy in the compost, you can use cow, horse, sheep, goat, llama, chicken, etc.)

Be careful with chicken manure, because it a HOT fertilizer, what I mean by HOT, is that it is twice as rich as cow manure. Also you can buy enzymes at the garden center to use in the compost pile to speed up the break down of the plant material. Just gather all these items into a pile, water regularly and turn the pile over about once a week for about six weeks, the compost will trap the heat from the sun and will break down the plants into usable organic fertilizer. It can't get any better than this to use in your garden because you don't have to worry about chemicals leeching into the soil, and it makes a great compost material for the garden.

The best time to start your compost pile is in the spring when you start your mowing. Instead of leaving the cuttings where they fall, which is alright also. But too much cuttings on your lawn can suffocate your lawn. Rake those clippings up and put them into the compost pile accomplishes two things, it loosens the soil so the grass can get air and moisture down to the roots, but also it’s free compost material.

I don’t anyone that doesn’t like free stuff.

So until next time happy Gardening Spring is already here again.
Keep your hands dirty and your mind clean

Jesse Auburg Online Marketing Entrepreneur
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REQUISITES OF THE HOME VEGETABLE GARDEN.

2010-03-12T03:46:00.004-06:00

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.

Exposure.
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But the thing of first importance to consider in picking out the spot that is to yield you happiness and delicious vegetables all summer, or even for many years, is the exposure. Pick out the "earliest" spot you can find a plot sloping a little to the south or east, that seems to catch sunshine early and hold it late, and that seems to be out of the direct path of the chilling north and northeast winds. If a building, or even an old fence, protects it from this direction, your garden will be helped along wonderfully, for an early start is a great big factor toward success. If it is not already protected, a board fence, or a hedge of some low-growing shrubs or young evergreens, will add very greatly to its usefulness. The importance of having such a protection or shelter is altogether underestimated by the amateur.

The soil.
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The chances are that you will not find a spot of ideal garden soil ready for use anywhere upon your place. But all except the very worst of soils can be brought up to a very high degree of productiveness especially such small areas as home vegetable gardens require. Large tracts of soil that are almost pure sand, and others so heavy and mucky that for centuries they lay uncultivated, have frequently been brought, in the course of only a few years, to where they yield annually tremendous crops on a commercial basis. So do not be discouraged about your soil. Proper treatment of it is much more important, and a garden- patch of average run-down, or "never-brought-up" soil will produce much more for the energetic and careful gardener than the richest spot will grow under average methods of cultivation.

The ideal garden soil is a "rich, sandy loam." And the fact cannot be overemphasized that such soils usually are made, not found. Let us analyze that description a bit, for right here we come to the first of the four all-important factors of gardening food. The others are cultivation, moisture and temperature. "Rich" in the gardener's vocabulary means full of plant food; more than that and this is a point of vital importance it means full of plant food ready to be used at once, all prepared and spread out on the garden table, or rather in it, where growing things can at once make use of it; or what we term, in one word, "available" plant food. Practically no soils in long- inhabited communities remain naturally rich enough to produce big crops. They are made rich, or kept rich, in two ways; first, by cultivation, which helps to change the raw plant food stored in the soil into available forms; and second, by manuring or adding plant food to the soil from outside sources.

"Sandy" in the sense here used, means a soil containing enough particles of sand so that water will pass through it without leaving it pasty and sticky a few days after a rain; "light" enough, as it is called, so that a handful, under ordinary conditions, will crumble and fall apart readily after being pressed in the hand. It is not necessary that the soil be sandy in appearance, but it should be friable.

"Loam: a rich, friable soil," says Webster. That hardly covers it, but it does describe it. It is soil in which the sand and clay are in proper proportions, so that neither greatly predominate, and usually dark in color, from cultivation and enrichment. Such a soil, even to the untrained eye, just naturally looks as if it would grow things. It is remarkable how quickly the whole physical appearance of a piece of well cultivated ground will change. An instance came under my notice last fall in one of my fields, where a strip containing an acre had been two years in onions, and a little piece jutting off from the middle of this had been prepared for them just one season. The rest had not received any extra manuring or cultivation. When the field was plowed up in the fall, all three sections were as distinctly noticeable as though separated by a fence. And I know that next spring's crop of rye, before it is plowed under, will show the lines of demarcation just as plainly.
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Until next time Happy Gardening
Jesse

Jesse's Gardening Tips

2010-03-11T21:30:00.001-06:00

Welcome to Jesse's Gardening Tips

Become a Better Gardener. Free Tips and Advice about gardening. Information about gardening skills, tools, recipes & more.

Happy Gardening

Master Gardener
Jesse Auburg