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Hi everyone
Welcome to this edition of your Gardening Weekly, today's edition is entitled:
Understanding Soil
QUOTE: All the flowers of all the tomorrows are in the seeds of today.
- Indian Proverb
Understanding the role that soil plays in the garden is one of the best assets that you can have as a gardener.
It is this knowledge that will allow you to create a healthier environment for your plants and get the maximum benefits from them.
In doing so, you will also make your own life easier, as a garden that is well managed from the soil up, is a garden that is a lot easier to manage, from one day to the next.
A garden that has good soil that has been fed with good nutrition over time will make growing almost anything easy for even the least experienced gardener.
Website Of Interest. Check out the following:
http://blog.mygardeninghome.com/soil.html
So how to you get good soil?
First you need to consider how plants grow and how they get their nutrition and that is through their roots.
Therefore, in order for the plants to grow well, they need to be in soil that allows their roots to get to the nutrition.
Obviously compact ground with little water, little air and poor nutrition will not produce the best plants.
Plants need water and air and this requires soil that has spaces to hold this air and water.
Therefore soil that is aerated will generally produce a better garden. Once again it is all about balance, as soil that is too crumbly might not hold the nutrients as well, where the water might wash them away. The soil also needs to be firm enough to support the growth of the plant otherwise it will topple over at the first sign of a wind.
The soil needs to have suitable nutrients and if any of these nutrients are out of balance, the pH scale that measures whether the soil is acidic or alkaline, will show why they are having difficulty absorbing the nutrients.
Website Of Interest. Check out the following:
http://blog.mygardeninghome.com/soil.html
Thanks,
Annie
http://blog.mygardeninghome.com
Derived from the Greek "water working", hydroponics simply means growing plants in either a bath or flow of highly oxygenated, nutrient rich water. The strange part is hydroponics does not need soil to grow. During hydroponics water is …
Source: barneygarcia@gmail.com (Barney Garcia)
Author: StarLiteFarms Subject: Pond plants for wet soil?? Posted: Sat May 12, 2007 4:11 am (GMT 0) I have an area next to my house (north side) which is shaded heavily by a tree and no grass grows there or any other plants ive tried. …
Source: StarLiteFarms
Hydroponic Gardening is the system in which plants can be made to grow without soil. Hydroponically grown plants will grow and mature faster and yield an earlier harvest of vegetable crops.
Source: unknown
Hi everyone
Welcome to this edition of your Gardening Weekly, today's edition is entitled:
Feeding Your Plants
QUOTE: Each flower is a soul opening out to nature.
- Gerald De Nerval
Just like people, plants have their own particular requirements and it is not the best policy to assume they all need the same feeding. Some plants need a lot of attention whereas others require very little.
You can actually harm the growth of your plants by feeding them too much. Once again there needs to be balance in the garden. If you feed your plants too much fertilizer that is high in nitrogen you might get a lot more foliage but a reduction in the fruit or flowers that the plant will produce.
This is because the plants will be using that nitrogen as energy to grow faster rather than produce more fruit or flowers.
Website Of Interest. Check out the following:
http://blog.mygardeninghome.com/soil.html
Plants are always giving us signs of their food requirements or if they have been stressed. They will wilt, or they might change color, or their leaves might curl up and drop off. If there is something wrong with a plants nutrition it can often be seen quite easily. It is just a matter of reading these signs and knowing what is going on. As all plants are different, to fully understand the requirements of the particular plants or trees that you are growing you need to get information specific to those plants.
If you find signs of stress in your plants you should take samples to the local nurseries of the leaves and any abnormalities that you might notice in the soil.
There might be signs of mold in the soil, which could suggest too much water, and the roots of your plants might be rotting.
If the leaves of your plants are turning yellow on the other hand they might be suffering from a shortage of water.
The three most important elements in the soil of plants are nitrogen; for the promotion of leaf and stem growth.
Phosphorus; for the root growth and Potassium; which helps in the growth of flowers and fruits.
If you find there are any deficiencies in these areas then additional nutrients will need to be added to the soil.
Website Of Interest. Check out the following:
http://blog.mygardeninghome.com/soil.html
Thanks,
Annie
My Gardening Home Blog
Hi everyone
Welcome to this edition of your Gardening Weekly, today's edition is entitled:
Watering Your Plants
QUOTE: Don't count the days, make the days count
- Anonymous
Plants are approximately 90% water and therefore it is essential that they get enough water to survive. Gardening is all about balance and that applies to the amount of water your plants need to stay healthy.
Over watering can be as harmful as not giving them enough water. The soil that the plants are growing in is a big factor in the amount of water that you should be giving them. If the soil is heavy and doesn't drain well you will need to give them less water or they could get water logged and the roots can rot. If the soil is a lot freer draining then you might need to water a little more often.
Website Of Interest. Check out the following:
http://blog.mygardeninghome.com/gardencenter.html
Too much water can reduce the plants ability to draw oxygen and nutrients from the soil and this is as essential to their growth as the water.
Gentle watering is better than heavy watering with a hose as the higher pressure of the hose can cause the soil to turn to mud. Once the soil dries out again it will become solidified. This compacting of the soil after heavy watering makes it more difficult for the plants to grow.
Soakers are a good method of watering provided the flow of water is not too great.
Soakers are also excellent when using a timed irrigation system so that the plants get sufficient water when you are away and particularly in the hotter months of the year when the soil tends to dry out more often.
If you are using timed irrigation you will need to adjust the timing and the flow of water according to the seasons and always make changes when there have been unseasonal changes to the weather that will require extra care for the plants.
Once again, plants need the human touch to maintain that balance.
Website Of Interest. Check out the following:
http://blog.mygardeninghome.com/gardencenter.html
Thanks,
Annie
http://blog.mygardeninghome.com
After reading over and over again that potting soil is the best way to make sure our plants are happy in their potted homes, a gardening expert says it is not good enough. Carlo Balistreiri, the executive director of The Gardens at …
Source: Molly Day
It looks like spring with some welcomed sun shine and it even feels like spring with temps in the 50's and 60's. But make no mistake, it is not yet spring as far as the plants are concerned. I checked the soil temperature at noon and it …
Source: Nancy & Jeff
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
Plants growing in soil can be fertilised with any of the plant "foods" on the market. Follow the directions on the packet but do not overdo it. If you feed too often or with too strong a solution, you can cause overfeeding. …
Source: Fine
