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Keep the Nutrition Going with a Winter Vegetable Garden Indoors!

11:15 am by webmann in backyard gardening, garden, gardening, vegetable garden

Image via WikipediaWhen you think about vegetable gardens, chances are that you usually associate them with warmer weather. However, there is no need to feel sad when the weather gets colder, because you can bring your love of vegetable gardening inside with an indoor vegetable garden.

Indoor Winter Vegetable Gardens Require Space and Patience

The first thing that you need to do before you begin your indoor winter vegetable garden, is to figure out where in your home you would like to place it. Make sure that the area you choose has a constant temperature, and gets at least a few hours of sunlight each day.

It should be noted that there are two ways that you can create an indoor winter vegetable garden. The first way is to simply get some large pots, and get vegetable plants like carrots or tomatoes that have a not very complicated root system.

The second way that you can create an indoor winter vegetable garden is to build a box about four feet long and 3 feet deep, fill it with soil, and cultivate larger vegetable plants. However, if you do choose this method, make sure that you have a good drainage system, because otherwise mold with grow in the soil, thus making the vegetables not edible.

Of course, all of the planning cannot even take place without the actual plants! One thing that you can do for your indoor winter vegetable garden is to take a couple of plants from your summer vegetable garden and transfer them indoors so that they can continue growing.

Something else that you can do is grow the plants from seeds, starting in the summer, and then nurturing them until they are ready to harvest in the winter. For this, you can purchase them from your local gardening center, or you can get the seeds from various vegetable plants that you have already grown.

If you are lucky enough to live in a warmer climate, then you have the option of growing your vegetable garden all year. However, it also poses a bit of a challenge too, because vegetables are only able to be harvested for a certain amount of time each year.

For more information on the kinds of gardens you can grow in the winter, search the internet. There are many reputable gardening sites on this topic. You can also go to your local gardening center and ask for advice. With the proper research and planning, you are sure to cultivate an excellent garden.

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Spring Vegetable Garden

9:12 am by webmann in backyard gardening, garden, gardening tips, vegetable garden

Image by Will Merydith via Flickr Get Your Child Involved in Your Spring Vegetable Garden!

When spring comes around each year, it is a time of new beginnings, and nicer weather. Spring also is a time when you start to get your yard ready for your spring vegetable garden. Your child was still too young to help before, but now your child has shown an interest in helping, and you can easily find ways for your child to help with your spring vegetable garden!

Spring Vegetable Gardens: A Lesson in Patience

Children are usually quite exuberant, and throw tantrums when they do not get what they want quickly. Thus, as a parent it is important to teach them the value of patience. Indeed, getting your spring vegetable garden ready is a perfect way to teach your child this important virtue.

Begin the preparation for the spring vegetable garden by getting the soil ready for the planting. This usually means tilling the grass, and then getting rid of residual weeds. Get down on your hands and knees with the child, and together start lucking out the weeds. Your child will gain a sense of accomplishment with this task.

Once the soil is ready, the next step is figuring out what vegetables you would like to plant in your spring vegetable garden. Take your child to your local gardening center, and have your child pick out a packet of seeds and choose a vegetable to plant. Tell your child that the chosen vegetable plant will be entirely in your child’s care. This will teach your child a sense of responsibility.

When the time comes to plant the vegetables, you plant a seed, and then teach your child how to plant the next one. When it comes time to water the plants, allow your child to water them with the hose if you child wishes. This teaches your child basic gardening techniques.

The fun comes when the child watched the vegetable plants get bigger over time. The child might begin by being a bit impatient waiting for the seeds to grow, but make it into a game, where together each day you go out to the garden and see if any seeds have gotten bigger yet.

Vegetable gardening is a wonderful hobby for children and adults alike. Not only do you get to eat the results of your hard work, but what you eat is nutritious. Not only this, but gardening with your child can result in many wonderful memories, and that alone is truly priceless.

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You Still Have Time To Get Your Halloween Flowers

9:10 am by webmann in flowers, garden

Fall is a great time of year and Halloween just has colors that bring back some awesome memories of my past Halloweens. You can get Halloween flowers and plants that give the look, feel and even the smell of Halloween.

Last year we tried growing our own flowers for Halloween but that didn’t turn out so well. They didn’t look anything like we expected and they certainly didn’t look like Halloween flowers so we thought it would be better to just buy the Halloween flowers we want.

I remember one year, a long time ago now, my older brother thought it would be funny to hook the garden sprinkler behind the flowers we put out on the porch at Halloween. Every time anyone would bend over to smell the flowers he would turn the sprinkler on. Well it may not sound that funny but way back when I was still a kid it was very funny, especially when it was someone’s mother smelling the flowers.

My mom had a gift for growing and arranging flowers at Halloween. They always looked like fall and Halloween as well as lasting a long time. She would have a vase with beautiful arrangements in all the windows facing the street. I have tried to do this myself over the years but it never looks like moms, so this year we are buying our Halloween flowers and I will stick to backyard gardening for vegetables.

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How to Create a Raised Bed Vegetable Garden

9:34 am by webmann in backyard gardening

Image via Wikipedia There are many advantages to planting your crops in a raised bed vegetable garden, but the idea of building one of these structures can be an intimidating one. Where do you begin? There are many ways to create one of these structures that will allow your plants to grow in ideal conditions. You can choose to construct your walls out of wood, railroad ties, or landscaping stone. You can make your structure free standing or you can place it against a fence or the side of your house. Your choice will depend largely upon your own preferences and what will look and work best in your yard.

Step One: Finding a Spot

The first step in creating your raised bed vegetable garden will be to select a location. This is an important consideration, since it is unlikely that your structure will be very portable. Choose a spot that gets plenty of sun and will be easy and convenient for you to access. Many gardeners will choose to till the soil a bit before building the walls of the bed, to ensure that crops like root vegetables will have plenty of room to thrive.

Step Two: Choosing a Material

As we mentioned earlier, the material that you use for your raised bed vegetable garden can vary widely. The main factor to consider is whether the substance that you choose is nontoxic, so that the walls will not affect your soil or crops in a negative way. This means that the wood you choose for your raised bed should be untreated, but you are not limited to wood choices. You can also use cinder blocks, landscaping stone, bricks or fiberglass. It all depends on how much work and cost you want to put into building your raised bed vegetable garden and how decorative you want the area to be.

Step Three: Add your Soil

To ensure that you will have enough good soil for your crops, make sure the walls of your raised bed vegetable garden are between 12 and 16 inches high. If you are building your walls out of wood, it is a good idea to reinforce the corners with metal brackets to ensure that you soil will stay inside. The next step is to fill your structure with a high quality mix of planting soil and compost. Avoid using regular soil from your yard, since this will defeat the purpose of creating the best environment for your plants. Once your bed is filled, you are ready to sow your seeds and prepare for the bumper crop that is to come. Happy gardening!

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Gardening’s Most Valuable Advice

9:24 am by webmann in gardening, gardening tips

Image by Belgapixel’s via Flickr Many people may not be aware that gardening can actually harm the environment.  A large amount of carbon dioxide can be released through tilling the soil.  This contributes to global warming.  When you cultivating and compacting the soil, destroys good fungi.  Fertilizers like nitrogen and manure often leach out of the soil and pollute the water you drink.

Global warming

Did you know that the earth’s soil gives out carbon dioxide in the atmosphere 10 times more than all human activity?  This comes from the pill bugs, microbes, fungi and worms when they breathe, digest food and then die. Although in the past plants have been capable of absorbing carbon dioxide caused by small-scale tillages, this isn’t the case nowadays.
The increase of the globe’s average temperature is because of the carbon dioxide the soil emits when tilled. The good news is that tilling can be minimized by mulching or sheet composting.

Good Fungi

In untilled soil, there is beneficial fungi known as the vesicular-arbuscular-mycorrhizae or VAM for short. VAM actually forms a symbiotic relationship with plants.  Their filaments increase root hairs and provide nutrients to the plant.  They give out zinc, copper, potassium and phosphorus.  Plants provide carbohydrates for the fungi in return.  It is possible to grow a garden without tilling the sooiil at all by mulching heavily until the soil is soft and friable.

Surplus Nitrogen

Many gardeners waste nitrogen and manures; farmers do otherwise. Farmers only need a quarter to a third of nitrogen to mix with an inch of compost, horse, or cow manure.  Kate Burroughs of Sebastopol California, uses the same rule for her home-grown lettuce and sweet corns. When it comes to broccoli and pear trees, farmers only need a small amount.  Notice that gardeners apply larger amounts of compost and manure than farmers. Obviously, they are not only wasting their fertilizer but also their money.

The best gardening advice that can be given to those concerned is to do all things with moderation. Keep in mind that too little and too much of something is not healthy. This is the most valuable advice one can have in gardening.

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