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Question: I have 3 apple trees that are 6 to 8 years old. However, I have gotten very few apples, and last year there were very few blossoms. What am I doing wrong? Answer: Since the trees didn't have blossoms, one explanation could be …

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Review of: Ringo Landscaping & Gardening Services I was the writer of the first post about Ringo's Landscaping Service, in which I sang his praises. While he did do good work, he became unreliable. Recently he did not show up for a …

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Source: "gardening" - Google News

Raised beds are a good gardening technique for areas that have soil problems like poor drainage, too many rocks or plain old poor soil. Gardening in a raised bed allows you to bring in the best gardening soil. You can create raised beds …

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Hi everyone

Welcome to this edition of your Gardening Weekly, today's edition is entitled:

Water Logging Your Plants

QUOTE: In joy or sadness, flowers are our constant friends.
- Kozuko Okakura

If you give your plants excess water or have poor drainage you will run the risk of water logging them

This will cause the leaves to go a yellow or brown color and they will usually drop off.  When plants start getting waterlogged the leaves at the bottom of the plant will be affected first.

By the time the upper leaves of the plant start turning yellow and brown you have a real problem.

Website Of Interest. Check out the following:
http://blog.mygardeninghome.com/plants.html

The problem arises because of the fact that plants need air as well as water around their roots to survive and with excessive watering the air pockets in the soil are filled with water.  Without this air the roots of the plant will begin to die and as the roots are needed to supply the plant with the necessary nutrients to survive, the plant begins to die from the bottom up.  That is why you see the lower leaves getting affected first.

To remedy the situation you will need to allow the soil to dry out to reduce the water content.  If the plant is in a container you will need to check to see whether there are sufficient drainage holes to allow excess water to escape.

If the soil has become compacted from all the water it is best to remove the plant and give it some new soil.

Often when plants begin to wilt they can appear to be lacking water when the opposite is the case so it is best to check the moisture content of the soil before assuming the plant needs more water.

When watering the plants allow the soil to dry out completely, or partially between watering to reduce the chance of them getting waterlogged.  Try to improve the drainage of the soil for plants in the garden and even consider raising the garden for better water control.

Website Of Interest. Check out the following:
http://blog.mygardeninghome.com/plants.html

Thanks,
Annie
http://blog.mygardeninghome.com

Hi everyone

Welcome to this edition of your Gardening Weekly, and a very Happy New Year to you all.  Today's edition, is entitled:

Making the Most of Any Soil

QUOTE: Gardening is a kind of disease.
It infects you, you cannot escape it.
When you go visiting, your eyes rove about the garden; you interrupt the serious cocktail drinking because of an irresistible impulse to get up and pull a weed.
- Lewis Gannit

It's not what you start with when it comes to the quality of the soil in your garden, but the results you have when the preparation has finished that really matters.  With the correct information and procedures you can make any soil fertile but the key factor here is getting the right information in the first place.

Even poor quality soil can be improved to the extent that you can have a lush garden.

Planning your garden ahead of planting will make all the difference as you will be able to get proper drainage sorted out while also allowing for good water and nutrient retention.

Website Of Interest. Check out the following:
http://blog.mygardeninghome.com/soil.html

Digging the soil will give you a good feel for it's quality and allow you to look at factors such as the density of the soil and whether it needs breaking up to allow for more water, air and nutrients to be retained within it.

The types of plants you intend to have in your garden will determine what you will need to do with the soil, as some plants thrive in heavy conditions, such as those found in clay soils, whereas other plant roots will struggle to get through anything other than light sandy soils.

Mixing in compost, sand, and other grades of soil when you are digging your garden can change the structure considerably.  Having additional information from pH test kits will also ensure you have the right balance of lime in your garden.

You might need to add fertilizer to get the quality of the land up to suitable levels for planting but almost any soil can be made fit with the right preparation.

Consider raising the garden beds where the ground is particularly poor or where there could be problems with drainage.

Light sandy soils will have space for air, water and nutrients but the nutrients can get washed away easily leaving the plants to suffer.  Heavy clay soils can hold the nutrients better but the roots of the plants might have trouble getting to them.  Clay soils can also become waterlogged or alternatively in hot dry weather they can become very hard, cracked and dry.

The climate will play a big part in determining how you prepare your soil.

Website Of Interest. Check out the following:
http://blog.mygardeninghome.com/soil.html

Thanks,
Annie
http://blog.mygardeninghome.com

It ranks above organic gardening. Really. Pruning is one of the most abused art forms in the horticulture industry. Many a winter day I cringe as I drive down the street looking at the poor helpless butchered trees. …

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Hi everyone

Welcome to this edition of your Gardening Weekly, today's edition is entitled:

Moss

QUOTE: Gardening requires lots of water…
Most of it in the form of perspiration
- Lou Erickson

If you have moss on your lawn then this can be a sign of two main problems.  Either you have a drainage problem or poor nutrition.

With moss on your lawn you will need to remove as much of the moss as possible before you start to take action to prevent it from coming back again.

Aerating the lawn will help to solve the problem.  There are various ways that this can be done.

Website Of Interest. Check out the following:
http://blog.mygardeninghome.com/lawncare.html

The best way to aerate your lawn is with a coring machine that actually pulls small plugs of approximately 2 inches from the lawn.  It is possible to hire these machines or get a professional to do the job for you.  Alternatively you can aerate your lawn by using a garden fork and punching holes throughout the affected area.  This can be quite time consuming and tiring.

Another way to improve your lawn is to rake the lawn vigorously, and in doing so you will be removing the moss and any old grass clippings and other debris that is lying around.  This procedure is called scarifying.

You can then use a lawn specific moss killer to kill off any moss that is left.  It is important that you get a moss specifically formulated for lawns as ordinary moss killers can also kill your lawn.

As the moss dies it will turn black and the lawn might look unsightly for a while but once the moss has died you can scarify it again to remove the dead matter.

Scarifying the lawn will allow the water and fertilizer to reach the roots of the grass and improve the quality of your lawn.

In areas of your property where there is little or no sunlight and quite a lot of dampness, you might need to consider if it would be better to transform it into a garden that will cope better with the conditions than lawn.

Website Of Interest. Check out the following:
http://blog.mygardeninghome.com/lawncare.html

Thanks,
Annie
http://blog.mygardeninghome.com

Those of you who are container gardening gurus: do you know what causes brown edges on your leaves? Is it over watering or under watering? I'm watering my plants about every 2 days and the pots have good drainage, but I'm still getting …

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