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Pear Tree Everywhere I look around me something is growing, the flower buds on the pear tree to the peonies that I forgot I planted last year. Here’s what I put in the ground this week: Carrots Broccoli Watermelon Lavender …
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Hi everyone
Welcome to this edition of your Gardening Weekly, today's edition is entitled:
Testing the pH of your soil
QUOTE: The rose has thorns only for those who would gather it.
- Chinese Proverb
It is easy to test the pH of the soil in your garden with the use of a simple and inexpensive test kit. All you need to do with the test kit is take a sample of the soil and mix it with water and then compare the results in the sample to the colors on the chart. This will tell you whether the soil is acidic or alkaline.
If the soil is too acidic you can add lime to bring it back into balance. If on the other hand there is too much lime and the pH reading is high you can add more compost to reduce the levels of the lime in the soil.
Website Of Interest. Check out the following:
http://blog.mygardeninghome.com/gardencenter.html
Soil that is slightly acidic tends to be more fertile.
Old gardeners used to use a simple taste test to determine the condition of the soil. This method isn't recommended but it can be quite accurate.
If the soil tastes sour then it is likely to be acid. This is also represented by a sour smell.
Vinegar is another way to test whether there is enough lime in the soil, as lime will cause the vinegar to bubble.
Drop some soil into a cup of vinegar and if it starts to bubble then you know there is enough lime in the soil.
For the low cost of a pH tester, you will get a lot more accurate reading and this will allow you to easily monitor the condition of your soils and adjust the nutrients accordingly rather than guessing what is needed and not having optimum nutrition.
You should also take samples at different points throughout your garden, as there can be changes in the soil from one area to the next depending on what has been added over the years and what has been growing in the various sections of the garden.
Website Of Interest. Check out the following:
http://blog.mygardeninghome.com/gardencenter.html
Thanks,
Annie
http://blog.mygardeninghome.com
Hi everyone
Welcome to this edition of your Gardening Weekly, today's edition is entitled:
Plants Have a Mind of Their Own
QUOTE: If I'm ever reborn, I want to be a gardener?
There's too much to do for one lifetime!
- Karl Forester
Plants are a lot cleverer than we might think. If you are aware of the changes that occur with the plants in the garden, you can sometimes predict everything from the coming weather to the changing of the seasons without ever having to consult the weather charts or your diary.
The weather can, however trick flowers into 'thinking' there has been a change in the weather or even the season.
This can be seen when there is unseasonal hot weather after a cold snap in winter. Plants can 'assume' that it is the start of Spring and bulbs will start flowering.
In recent years many areas throughout the world have experienced unseasonal weather and extremes of weather and this has caused many problems for people growing crops.
Website Of Interest. Check out the following:
http://blog.mygardeninghome.com/plants.html
Creating sheltered areas on your property can help you to control your plants and ensure that you get the flowers or fruits when you expect them to be ready. This will also help you to reduce damage that might occur from conditions such as hail or heavy rain.
Shading plants can also create a false reduction in daylight hours, which will affect the plants growth patterns as they measure the seasons by the amount of daylight.
Hothouses can create a false environment and this can be beneficial if you want to produce plants throughout the year for flowers or fruit.
Temperature can be adjusted to control the plant growth and to a lesser extent this can also be done by the placement of your plants in various different positions on your property depending on their exposure to sunlight, wind, cold and rain.
Designing your garden by taking into account all these factors will allow you to read your plants mind in advance, allowing you to get what you want, when you want from your garden.
It will allow you to plan the progression of plants from one season to the next.
Website Of Interest. Check out the following:
http://blog.mygardeninghome.com/plants.html
Thanks,
Annie
http://blog.mygardeninghome.com
