Preparing Your Garden fo the Winter

Some people believe that when the weather starts getting colder and the

leaves start to fall, it is time to put away the gardening tools and wait

until next spring to work on their garden again. Wrong. Winter is an

important time to maintain your garden's health and assure yourself a good

crop for next year. You may think that might take to long to prepare your

garden, but the truth is that it takes less than one day to prepare your

garden for the upcoming winter.



When the nighttime temperatures drop to less than forty-five degrees

Fahrenheit for more than four days in a row, or frost is forecasted for

your area (usually around late October or November) you know its time to

begin preparing your garden. You should begin by evaluating your garden

design, check which plants grew well in the past season, and which plants

did not do well. Fall is a good time to decide which plants will remain in

you garden next year, and which ones should go.



It is also a good time to decide which new plants you want to grow. To

make your garden more colorful and healthy, be sure only to plant the more

hardy plants during the fall so that they can withstand the winter. Some

plants that will do fine being planted in fall are: rudbeckia, Aster

Novi-belgii, Anemone Japonica, panicle hyandea, endive, escarole, and

Brussels sprouts. You can find all of these and more in gardening

magazines or your local nursery.



After you have finished this you should begin cleaning up your garden.

Begin by pulling out weeds that may have cropped up, and raking fallen

leaves. Weeds and rotten leaves can carry insects and diseases that might

be harmful to your garden. You should also rid your garden of spent annual

plants, and harvest your vegetables and other plants that cannot withstand

the winter weather. After fall has come and gone, the leaves will be off

your trees and you can see the rotten branches. Trimming off the unwanted

branches from your trees isn't necessary to your gardens health, but may

help later on by not dropping branches on your plants and not blocking too

much of the sun.



If you have younger trees you should consider wrapping them and supporting

them with stakes to help them survive the winter wind and cold. Putting

mulch over your garden for the winter can be a helpful way to protect

plants from sudden temperature changes and heavy snow. For mulch you can

use about five inches of shredded bark, pine needles, or a variety of

other materials. You have to be careful not to mulch too early, because

some insects may still be alive and able to take shelter in it for the

winter.



Once you are finished with your gardening tools you should clean them and

make sure they are in a safe place where they won't rust and you know

where they'll be for next year. Before winter comes you should always set

out slug repellent, as slugs are one of the worst bugs to have in your

garden. If you have a pool or fountain in your garden, be sure to take out

any fish that you have in them and bring them inside. There’s nothing

sadder than a fish frozen in a block of ice.

PLANTING SEEDS.

Any reliable seed house can be depended upon for good seeds; but even so, there is a great risk in seeds. A seed may to all appearances be all right and yet not have within it vitality enough, or power, to produce a hardy plant.



If you save seed from your own plants you are able to choose carefully. Suppose you are saving seed of aster plants. What blossoms shall you decide upon? Now it is not the blossom only which you must consider, but the entire plant. Why? Because a weak, straggly plant may produce one fine blossom. Looking at that one blossom so really beautiful you think of the numberless equally lovely plants you are going to have from the seeds. But just as likely as not the seeds will produce plants like the parent plant.



So in seed selection the entire plant is to be considered. Is it sturdy, strong, well shaped and symmetrical; does it have a goodly number of fine blossoms? These are questions to ask in seed selection.



If you should happen to have the opportunity to visit a seedsman's garden, you will see here and there a blossom with a string tied around it. These are blossoms chosen for seed. If you look at the whole plant with care you will be able to see the points which the gardener held in mind when he did his work of selection.



In seed selection size is another point to hold in mind. Now we know no way of telling anything about the plants from which this special collection of seeds came. So we must give our entire thought to the seeds themselves. It is quite evident that there is some choice; some are much larger than the others; some far plumper, too. By all means choose the largest and fullest seed. The reason is this: When you break open a bean and this is very evident, too, in the peanut you see what appears to be a little plant. So it is. Under just the right conditions for development this 'little chap' grows into the bean plant you know so well.



This little plant must depend for its early growth on the nourishment stored up in the two halves of the bean seed. For this purpose the food is stored. Beans are not full of food and goodness for you and me to eat, but for the little baby bean plant to feed upon. And so if we choose a large seed, we have chosen a greater amount of food for the plantlet. This little plantlet feeds upon this stored food until its roots are prepared to do their work. So if the seed is small and thin, the first food supply insufficient, there is a possibility of losing the little plant.



You may care to know the name of this pantry of food. It is called a cotyledon if there is but one portion, cotyledons if two. Thus we are aided in the classification of plants. A few plants that bear cones like the pines have several cotyledons. But most plants have either one or two cotyledons.



From large seeds come the strongest plantlets. That is the reason why it is better and safer to choose the large seed. It is the same case exactly as that of weak children.



There is often another trouble in seeds that we buy. The trouble is impurity. Seeds are sometimes mixed with other seeds so like them in appearance that it is impossible to detect the fraud. Pretty poor business, is it not? The seeds may be unclean. Bits of foreign matter in with large seed are very easy to discover. One can merely pick the seed over and make it clean. By clean is meant freedom from foreign matter. But if small seed are unclean, it is very difficult, well nigh impossible, to make them clean.



The third thing to look out for in seed is viability. We know from our testings that seeds which look to the eye to be all right may not develop at all. There are reasons. Seeds may have been picked before they were ripe or mature; they may have been frozen; and they may be too old. Seeds retain their viability or germ developing power, a given number of years and are then useless. There is a viability limit in years which differs for different seeds.



From the test of seeds we find out the germination percentage of seeds. Now if this percentage is low, don't waste time planting such seed unless it be small seed. Immediately you question that statement. Why does the size of the seed make a difference? This is the reason. When small seed is planted it is usually sown in drills. Most amateurs sprinkle the seed in very thickly. So a great quantity of seed is planted. And enough seed germinates and comes up from such close planting. So quantity makes up for quality.



But take the case of large seed, like corn for example. Corn is planted just so far apart and a few seeds in a place. With such a method of planting the matter of per cent, of germination is most important indeed.



Small seeds that germinate at fifty per cent. may be used but this is too low a per cent. for the large seed. Suppose we test beans. The percentage is seventy. If low-vitality seeds were planted, we could not be absolutely certain of the seventy per cent coming up. But if the seeds are lettuce go ahead with the planting.

Picking the Right Gardening Tools

If you’re thinking about taking your gardening seriously and getting out

there every day to increase the attractiveness of your garden, then you

will want to get the right tools to help you in this. You might be tempted

to go out to the store and just buy the nearest things you see, but you’ll

be much happier if you put lots of thought into the styles and types of

tools you’re buying. There are styles designed just for gardening, and

you’ll be better off buying those.



You can find most of the tools you will need at your local gardening or

home improvement shop. Usually the employees will be simply thrilled to

assist you in finding the ideal tools. If you go to a shop that

specializes in gardening, you can usually get some advice in addition to

service. Gardening store employees are usually an untapped wealth of

wisdom, and they are how I learned almost all that I know about gardening

today.



If you are having a hard time finding the right tool or if you want to

save some money, you might try looking online for the supplies you need.

You’ll have to pay the shipping costs and wait an extra week or two, but

often if you buy more than one tool, the total savings will be worth it.

You should always buy from a reputable seller, though, and search around

beforehand for anything negative that people had to say about their buying

experience.



As far as basic digging tools go, you might already have all you’ll need.

There are several types that you should get though, for different specific

tasks. A round point shovel is good for digging holes for plants. A spade

is necessary for all the more intricate work. A garden fork you might not

use as much, but I have one in my tool shed and I’ve been thankful for it

on multiple occasions. Having these different varieties of digging tools

can help you to minimize the work you have to do. For example, if you try

digging a big hole with a little spade then you’ll end up rather tired.

The same goes if you are attempting to do more detailed work with a big

clumsy shovel.



A rake is an absolute necessity. You most likely already have one, but I’m

guessing it’s a lawn rake and not a garden rake. There is definitely a

difference, and if you try to use a lawn rake in a garden then you will

not be happy with the results. Same if you buy a grading or a contractor’s

rake. You’ll want to look for a bowhead rake. I’ve found these are the

best for gardening purposes. They will provide you the maximum control and

accuracy, so you don’t accidentally tear up your precious plants.



As far as hoes go, I don’t believe any gardener should have less than 3.

There are so many useful varieties on the market that I have a hard time

recommending just one, and that’s why I’ll tell you all the ones I usually

use. The one I use the most is the onion hoe, which is very lightweight

and ideal for small cultivations and weeding. The Warren hoe is a larger

model, with a pointed end. If you need to make a hole or dig out a pesky

weed, this is the one for you. There are several other varieties, but I

recommend starting with the ones I mentioned. As you progress in your

gardening savvy, you will find the need for more types.



Most people believe that gardening just consists of a simple spade. But

there are many, many tools with many more variations that you will use in

your gardening career. Usually you can start with just a few different

tools, but you’ll always find that you can use more varieties for special

situations. It’s just a matter of recognizing when one tool could be more

efficient than another.

Picking the Ideal Location for your Garden

Once you have picked what garden you want, there are many other factors

you need to decide before you actually get to work with your gardening

tools. Mainly you need to choose its location. This is usually decided by

several factors: How you will water it, how much shade it needs, etc. Some

of these questions can be very important in deciding whether your garden

lives or dies, so don't take them lightly. You need to take each one into

special consideration.



Choosing the garden's location within your yard is one of the more

important things to decide. You want to choose a location that will

provide an ideal climate for the plants in your garden. I don't know what

type of garden you're dealing with so I can't give you specific advice,

but if you do a Google search for the plant you're dealing with then

you'll find a plethora of sites informing you about the perfect conditions

for its growing. After this, it's just a matter of finding the most shaded

or most sunny spot in your yard.



Another deciding factor is how you plan on watering your garden. If you

have a sprinkler system already installed for your grass, then it could be

a good idea to put your garden in the middle of your yard. Then it will

get watered at the same time, and require no extra work from your part.

But if this doesn't provide for a good location for your garden, then you

might end up watering it by hose or dragging a sprinkler out there. In

this case, just make sure your garden is within the ideal distance for a

hose to reach. While this might not seem like a good thing to base the

entire location of your garden on, you'll be surprised at how nice it is

to plan out in advanced.



Getting the perfect amount of shade for your garden can be a difficult

endeavor. Once you have a basic idea for where you want your garden, you

might want to watch it and record how many hours it spends in sunlight and

how many it spends in shade. Compare your findings to an online web site,

and you should be able to determine whether the spot you chose is ideal or

not for planting and starting your garden in. Of course the amount will

change as the seasons change, but this should give you a good idea of what

to basically expect for the rest of the year. If necessary, later you can

put up some kind of shade to protect your garden from getting too much sun.



After you've determined the ideal place for your garden and whether it has

the right amount of sunlight, and whether you will be able to conveniently

water it, you're one step closer to actually starting your garden. Of

course there are other factors that I have overlooked here, but mostly you

should be able to decide whether your location is good or not based on

common sense. Just think: If I were a plant, would I be able to flourish

here? If you can honestly answer yes, then I think its time for you to

head out to your local gardening store and buy the necessary soil and

fertilizer to get started! Have fun!

Picking a Healthy Plant

When it comes to getting started with your garden, you have two choices; planting seeds, or buying entire plants. Both have their own benefits. If you plant seeds and care for them every day, you will find it is a much more rewarding experience when you have a full, healthy plant. However, this method is a lot more risky. I can’t tell you how many seeds I’ve planted and never seen any trace of whatsoever.



If you choose to buy the plant from a nursery and install it in your garden, it reduces a lot of the work involved in making it healthy. However, I have found in the past that many incompetent nursery workers will absolutely ruin the future of the plant by putting certain chemicals or fertilizers in. I have adapted to this incompetence by learning to choose the healthiest plant of the bunch. Here I will discuss some of the techniques I use in my screening process for plants.



It may sound superficial, but the one thing you need to check for on your prospective plants is how nice they look. As far as plants go, you can truly judge a book by its cover. If a plant has been treated healthily and has no diseases or pests, you can almost always tell by how nice it looks. If a plant has grown up in improper soil, or has harmful bugs living in it, you can tell from the holey leaves and wilted stems.



If you’re browsing the nursery shelves looking for your dream plant, you want to exclude anything that currently has flowers. Plants are less traumatized by the transplant if they do not currently have any flowers. It’s best to find ones that just consist of buds. However if all you have to choose from are flowering plants, then you should do the unthinkable and sever all of them. It will be worth it for the future health of the plant. I’ve found that transplanting a plant while it is blooming results in having a dead plant ninety percent of the time.



Always check the roots before you plop down the money to purchase the plant. Of course if the roots are in absolutely terrible condition you will be able to tell by looking at the rest of the plant. But if the roots are just slightly out of shape, then you probably won’t be able to tell just by looking at it. Inspect the roots very closely for any signs of brownness, rottenness, or softness. The roots should always be a firm, perfectly well formed infrastructure that holds all the soil together. One can easily tell if the roots are before or past their prime, depending on the root to soil ratio. If there are a ridiculous amount of roots with little soil, or a bunch of soil with few roots, you should not buy that plant.





If you find any abnormalities with the plant, whether it be the shape of the roots or any irregular features with the leaves, you should ask the nursery employees. While usually these things can be the sign of an unhealthy plant, occasionally there will be a logical explanation for it. Always give the nursery a chance before writing them off as horrendous. After all, they are (usually) professionals who have been dealing with plants for years.



So if you decide to take the easy route and get a plant from a nursery, you just have to remember that the health of the plants has been left up to someone you don’t know. Usually they do a good job, but you should always check for yourself. Also take every precaution you can to avoid transplant shock in the plant (when it has trouble adjusting to its new location, and therefore has health problems in the future). Usually the process goes smoothly, but you can never be too sure.

Other Factors in Garden Creation

So now you've picked out what type of garden you will have, what the

location will be, and what kind of fertilizer you need, now is the time to

really get started in choosing your garden environment. First you'll want

to choose what your garden barriers will be. What will separate your

garden from the rest of the world? Next you'll want to choose the

decorations and support for your plants. Often some kind of metal mesh is

necessary to keep your plant standing up. You will also want to choose how

much soil and fertilizer to buy, and how to arrange all the plants in your

garden.



Choosing a border is actually a fairly important step in getting your

garden started. It might not actually affect the well-being of the plants,

but having a garden is a fairly aesthetic ordeal for many people anyways.

So usually you will want to choose between metal and wood. You can stack

up boards around the perimeter of your garden, and give it a rather nice

cabin look. If you're looking for a more modern look, you can obtain some

metal lining at your local home improvement store for rather cheap, and

installation is medium difficulty.



Finding something nice-looking to support your plants can be a little bit

more challenging. Sometimes a short metal pole can work well, but often

for plants such as tomatoes you will need a wire mesh for it to pull

itself up on. You can find these at any gardening store, usually

pre-shaped in a sort of cone shape ideal for plants. The plant just grows

up through it, and usually it will last until the plant is grown enough to

support itself. After that you can take a pair of wire-cutters and just

snip it free.



Deciding how much soil to buy can be slightly easier. Look up information

on your plants and find out the ideal soil depth. Then dig out that much

from your garden, take the measurements, and find out the exact amount of

cubic feet of soil that you will need. Go to the store and buy it,

preferably adding on a few bags just so you can replenish the supply if it

compresses or runs out. If you live in an area where the ground is rough,

dry, and barren of nutrients, then you might even want to add a few inches

of depth to the original recommendation.



Arranging the plants is rather important to the success of your garden.

I'm not talking about some kind of feng-shui thing, but depending on your

watering, some plants might hog all the water and leave the other plants

high and dry. Some plants have longer roots than others, and are more

aggressive in the collection of water. If you place one of these plants

next to a plant with weaker, shorter roots, it will quickly hijack the

water supply for itself, and choke out the other plant.



I hope I've led you to realize that placement isn't the only important

thing about a garden. There are many other factors that might not seem

very significant, but spending a proper amount of time considering them

could change the outcome of your garden. So if you're working on building

a garden, use and reference you can (the library, the internet, and

magazines) to look in to some of the factors I've mentioned.

Six Ticks For Organic Gardening

Organic gardening is the way of growing vegetables and fruits with the use of things only found in nature.



Why would one want to indulge in organic gardening?



1.One can easily make compost from garden and kitchen waste. Though this is a bit more time-consuming than buying prepared chemical pesticides and fertilizers, it certainly helps to put garbage to good use and so saves the environment.



2. Organic farming does not use chemicals that may have an adverse affect on your health. This is especially important when growing vegetables. Chemical companies tell us that the chemicals we use are safe if used according to direction, but research shows that even tiny amounts of poisons absorbed through the skin can cause such things as cancer, especially in children.



On the average, a child ingests four to five times more cancer-causing pesticides from foods than an adult. This can lead to various diseases later on in the child's life. With organic gardening, these incidents are lessened.



Remember, pesticides contain toxins that have only one purpose - to kill living things.



3. Less harm to the environment. Poisons are often washed into our waterways, causing death to the native fish and polluting their habitat.



4.Organic farming practices help prevent the loss of topsoil through erosion.

The Soil Conservation Service says that an estimated 30 - 32 billion tons of soil erodes from United States farmlands every year.



4. Cost savings. One does not need to buy costly chemical fertilizers and pesticides with organic gardening. Many organic recipes for the control of pest and disease come straight from the kitchen cupboard. Sometimes other plants can be grown as companions to the main crop. An example of this is the marigold, which helps to repel aphids from vegetables.



Mixing 1 tablespoon of liquid dishwashing soap and 1 cup of cooking oil can make a cheap garden pest spray. Put 3 tablespoons of this mixture in 1 quart of water and spray on plants.



5.A simple mulch of pine needles will help to suppress the growth of weeds as well as keeping the moisture in.



6. Organic gardening practices help to keep the environment safe for future generations.