Gardening Station

A soil\’s texture, on the other hand, refers to its particle content, the size of particles, and how cohesive they are. Sandy soils have very large particles, for example, whereas soils with a lot of clay have very small particles. Both soil with a lot of sand and soil with a lot of clay can be problematic. Sandy soil permits air, roots, and water to move too freely while soil with a lot of clay does not offer enough room for air, roots, or water.

There are a number of steps you can take to bring your soil into the best shape possible for a garden and there are definitely things you should avoid doing so as not to harm the quality of your gardening soil. Enriching your soil with fertilizer and organic material is one of the best ways to make sure your garden will be healthy. Soil enriched with fertilizer and organic materials stimulates plant root systems to go down deep and to spread out, and the resulting plants are stronger, sturdier, and better able to withstand disease, heat and drought. Manure is a great fertilizer as long as it is aged enough and doesn\’t contain too much salt or weeds. Organic material can consist of anything from kitchen scraps such as eggshells, potato peels, and coffee grinds, to plant residues such as grass cuttings, pine needles and leaves to even earthworms!

When you are improving and enriching your soil, be sure not to mix a different type of soil with your existing soil. For example, you wouldn\’t want to mix a sandy soil with a clay soil - this would produce disastrous results. Also, when adding organic material, make sure you don\’t use plant residue that consists of diseased plants or organic material that has meat scraps. Finally, sewage sludge can be used but it may contain high levels of lead and cadmium so it is best to use this material only on plants that you are not intending to ingest.

The first mixture is one that is used to eliminate aphids, whiteflies, and mites. Take one tablespoon of liquid hand soap and mix with one cup of vegetable oil. Then of that mixture, take one tablespoon and mix with one quart of water for spraying on soft-bodied insects. Do not use your mixture on extremely hot days and avoid spraying overly sensitive plants. If you have problems with aphids on your roses and tomatoes you can take one onion and two medium cloves of garlic, finely chop these two ingredients. In a blender add two cups of water, your other ingredients and mix on high until all is blended together well. You will then need to strain out the onion and garlic. Use the liquid that you have to spray on your bushes. Make sure that the top and bottom of the leaves are coated with the spray.

If ants are your pests of choice, then simply take a bottle of concentrated lemon juice and sprinkle it around your entire garden. This will also keep other critters away.

Beat it brown recluse spiders! These certain types of spiders have small markings in the shape of a violin on their back. They are commonly found in across the United States and are considered venomous. Their bites may leave you with a deep, open wound that heals very slowly. One may often find these spiders in rarely used drawers, closets and other recluse hiding areas. One of their favorite spots to call home is a cardboard box. Here are a few simple steps you can follow to minimize your chances them call your house a home:

-Vacuum the areas that they are most commonly found. Discard all of your cardboard boxes. Instead use totes or bags to store your belongings.

-During the warmer months of the year keep all woodpiles away from your house.

-Use sticky glue traps in the areas they are most likely to be living, such as your attic or basement.

Next, think about weeds, diseases, and home remedies to stop them from spreading. If you have a disease you will want to prevent it from spreading. In order to do this you will use fermented compost tea. Start by using 1-part compost to 5-8 parts of water for 3-6 days. Strain your mixture and use the liquid to spray around the stem of your plant and soil to prevent soil-borne diseases. Use the mixture on your leaves if you have a powdery mildew on them.

If you are experiencing fungus in your garden take 1 teaspoon of baking soda, 1 drop of laundry detergent, 1 tablespoon of canola oil, and 1 gallon of water. Mix all of these together to create a spray that you can use on plants parts with powdery mildew.

Vinegar has many uses, and one of those uses is for killing weeds. Buy your typical white vinegar, use 95% water and 5% vinegar to get rid of many weeds. Spraying vinegar on young weeds that are 2 weeks or younger causes them to turn brown and die. If the weeds are older they will need a stronger vinegar solution. Several applications on their roots will finish them off. Be careful not to spray on your plants as it could harm certain plants. It is best to spot treat your weeds and avoid run-off of the vinegar to areas that you do not want harmed.

Always remember even though these are home remedies you should still keep them out of reach of small children and never drink the ingredients.

When is the best time to start tomato seeds? Unless you are in Zone 10, don�t start until about March 1st. Many people start tomatoes too early and that is why the plants don�t produce too well or at all. In springtime, no later then April, make sure to loosen and smooth your garden soil. Try these: Calendula, Candytuft, Coreopsis, Larkspur, Nasturtium, Pansy, Shirley Poppy, Snapdragon, Stock, and Sweet Peas. Among the best things to do for hanging baskets are pendula begonias. In a large basket, you can also add many different flowers around the basket. Some types of flowers are ageratum, coleus, lobelia and impatiens. As you hang your basket outdoors for the first time, make sure to water the plants. If your basket has drainage holes, which it should have, it is almost impossible to over-water your hanging plants. Water is quickly evaporated from a basket, so make sure to water the plants. To attract caterpillars you should plant Parsley, Carrot, Queen Anne�s Lace, and Angelica. For nectar: Privet, Honeysuckle, flowers of red, orange and bright yellow, Liatris, Asters, Chives, Bee Balm, Butterfly Weed, Lythrum, Thyme, Daylily, Sweet Alyssum, Bachelor Button, Clover, Lavender, Cosmos, Shasta Daisy, Purple Coneflower, Rudbeckia, Butterfly Bush (Buddleia) and Salvia and Stonecrop (sedium).

SUMMER:

Annual herbs such as dill and basil grow quickly in warm weather. It is also ok to start any perennial herbs now and you may be able to start to harvest them in the same year. The following year, the herbs will have grown enough so that you can harvest them for the spring onwards. For some color, scatter zinnia, phlox, baby�s breath, cosmos, four o�clock, bachelor button seed, or marigold all around your garden area. If you are interested in perennial flowers, this is a great time to plant those seeds and also plant biennials for next year�s bloom. There is still plenty of time to plant, summer squash, watermelon, beans, dill, cilantro, chamomile, New Zealand spinach, Swiss chard, lettuce, okra, bunching onions, basil, and early varieties of sweet corn; summer is also a great time to start seeds indoors or in a cold frame for the upcoming fall crops such as brussels sprouts, cauliflower, or cabbage. Or if you prefer directly in the garden you can plant, beets, lettuce, carrots, turnips, other green and radishes.

FALL:

It depends on where you are in the country, zone-wise. In Zones 9 and 10, plant roses, shrubs, greens, trees, hardy annual flowers, and root crops. However, all Zones can plant spring-flowering bulbs and dormant perennial plants. Indoors, start with seeds of coleus and impatiens, parsley, cactus, oregano, spearmint, and chives. Are the spring-flowering bulbs easy for a new gardener to grow? Yes, they are very easy for anybody to grow. These bulbs have already started to form the next year�s bulbs. Make sure to plant in fall, mulch and water the plants.

WINTER:

You can grow herbs indoors at any point during the year. If you start them in the winter you will be able to transfer them in the spring into your garden. Try basil, parsley, chives, thyme, oregano and sage. Make sure the pots are four to six inches in size. The plants will thrive for a year or more indoors. The key to transferring good indoor growing herbs is to make sure they are thick and full before you transfer them.