March 29, 2007
Garden Soil
Say soil. That's where it all begins. You can dig and plant, water and fertilize, hope and pray all you want, but if you don't start with good soil, you're always playing catch-up. Do yourself a favor. For indoor gardening and outdoor container gardening, use the "potting soil" you can buy from your supermarket or garden center. It's not exactly soil, but that's what they call it. Most any brand you find will do. Scotts Hyponex is an organic variety from the fertilizer people. Available online from Shop.com for $2.99 per 40# bag. (plus shipping of course)
For outdoor "earth gardening", dig generous quantities of compost, treated manure, or other soil amendment into your garden plot. You can find everything you need in big bags and bigger bags and really big bags from the garden centers in Home Depot, Wal-Mart or Lowe's as well as your local nursery. Buy it. Dig it in. Water it well. Sure it's a pain...a little boring...and messy, but you are laying a foundation as important, relative to your garden, as the one your house is built on. Now you're ready for fun.
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June 17, 2006
Composting Flower Wine Barrel
Nice! A container garden grown in a converted wine barrel (Bordeaux, solid oak) that functions as a first class composter. This is from a company called SunFrost (interesting name) that specializes in energy efficient refrigerators and freezers. They also carry several heliodons, in case you've been looking for a source. (If we don't know what a heliodon is, then undoubtedly we don't need one, do we?) Their product is aptly called a "Scrap Eater," and the website has a nice overview of composting with kitchen scraps and a great diagram of the way this one works. No price on the website, but you can call them or wait for me to do it and tell you what I've found. :-)
The Scrap Eating Composter
Permalink | Comments (0) | Posted to Container Gardening | Organic Gardening | Tips and Techniques
September 27, 2005
More About Bulbs
Martha's program today featured a how-to on bulbs. In case you missed it, a few of her tips follow.
1. Look for plump, unblemished bulbs from a good nursery or Costco (the turnover there is so fast, you don't have to worry about the bulbs being picked over). Check for bruises, breaks and mold just as you would produce you were buying to eat.
2. Always be sure to plant with the root side down. Roots go into the ground, right? The little tip is the top.
3. Plant three times the depth of your bulb in light, loose soil amended with bone meal or super phosphate. Her hyacinths and tulips were two inches long and planted six inches deep. The narcissus were two and a half inches and planted nine inches deep. Squirrels and deer LOVE all bulbs except narcissus, which is another good reason to plant deep.
4. You can layer your bulbs in the ground or in a container (she used a very cool clear acrylic planter), with the large bulbs at the bottom covered by a good layer of soil, and the smaller bulbs like crocus above. Then you can top it all off with a planting of violas or the like. The bulbs at the bottom will come up through the ones on the top, even if they are directly underneath.
5. A nice way to plant bulbs for a natural look is to scatter them, then push them into the soil where they land. They will naturalize if planted in a hospitable environment and you let the foliage die back after blooming in the spring.
6. If you do not live in an area with cold winters, be sure to check your garden center's directions for pre-chilling your bulbs.
Bulb Tips
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September 19, 2005
All About Bulbs
Welcome to LeafyLife the week of the autumn equinox!
This is the time for bulb mania. A little advance planning and outdoor work in the fall pays a spectacular dividend in the spring.
A word to the wise: order your bulbs now! Premium bulbs are cheaper and generally in better condition when purchased by mail order rather than from your local nursery or hardware store. Breck's, White Flower Farms, Spring Hill Nursery, Burpee, Park Seed Company, and the like (see links below) offer collections at prices far less per bulb than buying them separately. Many suppliers give discounts for ordering BEFORE October 15th. If you're too late to order by mail, look for large, plump bulbs that have not been picked over or damaged. Be sure to check the zone hardiness for your area. And don't forget the tools and all-important bone meal!
The U.S. Netherlands Flower Bulb Information Center is a good place to find out all about bulbs...
Breck's
White Flower Farms
Wayside Gardens
Spring Hill
Permalink | Comments (0) | Posted to Bulbs | Container Gardening | How-to Instruction
September 02, 2005
Pots Are Hot
Container gardening is becoming more and more popular! Changes in materials, the fact that so many more homes have patios, and new plants grown especially to look good in pots are revolutionizing this type of gardening.
The linked article from Bart Ziegler's Garden Journal column highlights these changes and gives tips on three-season planting and using ornamental grasses. The second link takes you to a great Garden Design article that will forever change the way you look at your pots. Time is waning in northern climes to plant in containers, but all of you in temperate regions can plant now for fall and winter color. Have fun!
Photo from Proven Winners.com
Pots and Planters [via The Wall Street Journal]
Garden Design
Permalink | Comments (0) | Posted to Container Gardening | Education