Backyard Gardening Tips

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Desktop Gardening

10:18 am by webmann in gardening

Who would have believed that you could plan and order your whole garden from your desktop just a few years ago?

It makes it so easy to get exactly what you like for your garden by logging on to the Internet Garden stores and being able to choose your plants according to color, size, type, season and more.

You can even select plants according to the conditions they will be planted in your garden, so if you have a shaded area you will be able to select only those plants that prefer those conditions.

It makes it so easy for an inexperienced gardener to plan a garden and know what it will look like and know that the right plants and in the best place according to the conditions.

The saving that you can get over hiring professional advice can go in to the purchase of plants and garden necessities.

It is quite a lot of fun creating your own oasis and choosing the plants to suit your personality. You can chop and change the plan around until you get the best layout without ever having to spend money until you are completely happy and ready to go with the ordering of the plants.

As well as the convenience of these search functions on the gardening sites, you will often find that due to the lower overheads of the online businesses, you can save quite a substantial lot of money by buying through them rather than the local garden store.

One of the best ways to get ideas for your garden plans is to look at the galleries of other gardens on the Internet and base your own garden on one you like, customizing it to suit your requirements.

Once you have created a plan using these resources you can take it to a landscape professional to get some additional guidance and advice but in doing the groundwork online first you will stand to save a lot of money.

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Herb Garden: Peppermint: More Beneficial Than Chewing Gum

10:44 am by webmann in gardening, herb garden

You’ve probably used peppermint in the preparation of foods, or as a tea.  However, you may be surprised to learn just how beneficial peppermint is to your health.

Peppermint has a large index of health benefits such as: calms digestive spasm; relieves gas; fights bacteria; and acts as a decongestant as well.  It is used to increase the flow of digestive juices and bile while bringing the digestive muscles to a relaxed state. The menthol, which is a component in peppermint, soothes the stomach and eases pain.  In addition, when used in tea it offers relief for mild asthma attacks.

Peppermint has an antispasmodic effect which can provide significant relief for abdominal pain, bloating, constipation and diarrhea, and general abdominal discomfort associated with an intestinal condition. In fact, peppermint oil generates this antispasmodic activity and provides relief for liver and gallbladder conditions.  You may agree that the aroma itself may aid in improved concentration, relieve headaches, and reduce mental fatigue.  In addition, when used topically, it can act as an antiseptic for muscle and nerve pain.  Due to its cooling properties, this particular herb eases inflammation to tissue. It has also been known to relieve insomnia, stress, and anxiety.

Fortified with high levels of manganese, Vitamin C and Vitamin A, peppermint also includes properties such as: fiber, iron, calcium, potassium, magnesium, omega-3, riboflavin, and tryptophan.  Peppermint oil, for example, has been used to reduce colic in babies. It is also known to prevent gallstones.  It soothes the lining of the stomach and relieves cramping. This accounts for some of the over the counter medications which have peppermint properties, such as Bengay ointment and lozenges.

As mentioned earlier, you may be most familiar with peppermint as a tea.  Did you also know that you can add tea to your bath to help treat skin conditions?  Or you can gargle with tea several times a day to treat a sore throat. The menthol in peppermint has antibacterial, antiviral, and analgesic effects. Peppermint, when used as a mouthwash, can aid in the prevention of gingivitis as well. It also should be note that in laboratory studies, peppermint oil was found to kill bacteria that cause urinary tract infections and the herpes simplex virus.

You can drink up to four cups a day for treatment of digestive disorders, morning sickness, or to ease congestion. There have been no toxic side effects associated with consumption of peppermint tea, however, and it is always advisable to consult your physician when taking any herb or supplement.

Peppermint is found in almost everything we eat and drink; from chocolate to ice cream.
Most notably used in chewing gum, there are many medicinal qualities which are derived by the use of peppermint, whether used internally or externally. Add this wonderful herb to your garden. It’s a good thing!

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Backyard Gardening : Crop Rotation for Vegetables

11:09 am by webmann in backyard gardening

Growing up I never thought about it but my parents always grew the same things in the same place year after year. When growing vegetables in the garden most people tend to grow the same crops year after year. This is not surprising really, as we grow the crops that we prefer to eat and we also tend to grow the plants that we have the most success growing.

One thing that most gardeners seem to do is grow the same vegetables in the very same place in the garden each year.

You will tend to have a spot for your tomatoes and a spot for your pumpkins and so on.

The problem with planting the same crops in the same place each year is the effect it has on the nutrients in the soil.

Plants will extract the nutrients that they need from the soil for their specific requirements each season. By planting the same crops in the same places you can get nutrient deficiencies.

This is where crop rotation can enhance the value of your soil. By rotating where you plant your vegetables each season you will be giving the soil the opportunity to produce better results as there won’t be the same demands on the nutrients in the soil when there is a different plant growing their from last season.

To improve the soil quality even more, you should dig in the remains of the crops once the season has finished allowing some of those nutrients to be put back into the soil. In the off-season you can also grow cover crops in the garden. These are crops that are grown specifically to add nitrogen to the soil. These crops have high nitrogen value in their roots and when they are ready, you dig them into the soil.

In doing this you can expect a better harvest each year as the new planting of vegetables will have more nutrients to feed them.

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Backyard Gardening & Feeding Your Plants

2:45 pm by webmann in backyard gardening, garden

My brother’s second daughter wasn’t a very healthy kid but once it was discovered that she was lacking in iron the problem was solved. Well, 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.

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.

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Backyard Gardening Compost is a Gardener’s Delight

3:36 pm by webmann in backyard gardening

Isn’t it amazing that all that waste food that we can’t or don’t want in the kitchen is such a good food source for the plants in our garden.

What makes it better is the fact that we can grow vegetables in our gardens, cook and eat them, and whatever we don’t use goes back into the garden to make the next lot of vegetables grow better and healthier than ever.

Compost not only helps to feed your plants by improving the quality of the soil but it can also control diseases in the garden.

You can create compost simply by throwing all your waste on a pile and waiting for it to rot, however this can take quite a long time if the compost pile is quite large. The rotting process is aided by keeping the heap moist and this might require watering in hot climates.

Having the compost in an enclosed container can help to retain the heat, which will speed up the process.
It is possible to buy specific containers that are made for fast composting and apart from the fact that they will keep your yard looking a lot tidier, you will get the benefits of using the compost sooner and there will be less ‘bad smells’ in your garden.

Contained composts are also a lot better at keeping vermin out which can become quite a problem with uncovered waste on your property.

Some of the premium compost containers can be rotated, thereby giving you access to the compost at the bottom of the container, which is ready for use without having to dig through the fresh waste at the top.

This convenience will ensure you have quality compost that you can use as soon as it is ready rather than waiting months for the contents to rot.

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