Gardening

Question: gardening? im modernising an old home, and i have come up with a design for the garden, but i dont know anything about plants, etc, i only need to know the basics, like what plant accompanies what, plants for this time of year ,easy to maintain, that sort of thing, does anyone know a good website, for the basics, or if anyone has any tips, im not having little coloured shrubs, im going for a more green, grass plant look? please any help or advice.

Answer: If you're going to learn gardening....learn it right! go to the organic gardening fourms. Lots of very helpful people who would love to help you w/ all the info you need. Be sure to let them know where you are w/ each question. They'll give you different tips, depending on where you are & what type of soil you have. http://forums.organicgardening.com/index.jspa?categoryID=1

Question: Is gardening with tires bad for the environment? I have read many articles that suggest using old tires for container gardening. My father is considering making a vegetable garden out of tires. Does the tire pollute the soil and there fore the vegetables? I it is bad to burn tires.. Should I be concerned about the quality of the vegetables? Have you seen any scientific evidence about this topic? Or environmental tests?

Answer: If you already have the tires - I say use 'em. Don't burn them, however. I can't imagine there is any concern about the quality of the veggies since what that really depends on is the soil you put them in and how you fertilize etc. They make rubber mulch these days - probably from old tires... One critter warning - if you are not going to turn the tires inside out to eliminate the ridges, or if you are going to "store" tires, I would give you a caveat about mosquitoes who LOVE to breed in the little bit of water that usually sits in those ridges. Make sure the tires are packed tight with soil. If you don't have tires already, I don't see an advantage to this method over any other raised bed method. There are lots of unanswered questions that would help determine what the best garden situation is for you : Do you want raised beds because you have trouble up and down? If that is the case, build a box (make the bottom out of screening and landscape fabric so water will flow through) and set it on top of some table legs or horses. Or is it because you only have a little bit of space? Container gardening is easily done with vegetables. See the book Movable Harvest for really great ideas. You can use pretty much anything you can put a drainage hole in (provided it didn't have chemicals in it first!). Personally, I think anytime you are recycling something for a good use it is worthwhile - but for the love of God - PLEASE don't buy new tires to try this project out! Just in case you DO have a bunch of tires laying around, I attached a link to a site that has many ideas for using them up in the garden. Good luck to you and your dad!

Question: Gardening according to the phases of the moon, has anyone any experience? I saw something about it on tv the other day and have read a little about it before. Does anyone have any experience, does it make a difference or is it coincidence? From my own experience, I find most things are reluctant to grow after June, when the days start getting shorter. I've never tried gardening by moon phases, I tend to go by the phases of the sun rather than the moon, but thought of trying it out this year just for fun.

Answer: I tried it a few years back - but you really do have to be quite methodical about it! My main problem with it was that it wanted me to sow/grow/harvest etc. at times I wasn't ready to! The idea is that you should expect bigger & better, pest free crops if whatever you grow. My mum also did it a few years back, she is retired and was able to fit her schedule around the suggested times etc. more easily than I could and she reckoned she did see a difference - not sure if that was just wishful thinking though!

Question: How to get savvy with gardening? Every time I buy a houseplant or look something up that's related to any kind of gardening I get completely lost in all the terminology, latin names, etc. I'd like to get better at gardening and growing things without having to get my degree in horticulture. Are there any sources (websites/books) for beginners who don't understand all the "big words" ?

Answer: What I did was to go to the local library, and grab a large stack of books on gardening. Ones with pictures are more inspiring. Out of a stack of 10 or so, there would be at least a couple that seemed to "speak" to me. Reading was not over my head, good visuals, and I actually learned things, or at least got ideas. It's a great way to spend a winter, when there's not much going on outside.

Question: Gardening vegetarians and vegans: what sort of fertilizer do you use? I'm new to gardening and I'm using liquid seaweed for my tomatoes. People at the gardening centers have been telling me I won't get awesome tomatoes without using blood meal/bone meal. Have you used seaweed? What do you use? I would really love to be composting, but I live in a one-room apartment that's smaller than my childhood bedroom. I'm trying to garden on my huge, south-facing windowsill. We'll see how it goes.

Answer: I'm Vegan. I grow cabbages, peas, carrots, corn, tomatoes and butternut squash and I use NO fertillizer what so ever.

Question: How do I create a flower garden around a tree? I am a beginner in gardening and planting? I have an old tree in front of my home. I like to add a flower bed around the tree, but I am new to planting and gardening. Also, my lawn needs a lot of care. Last year my husband tilled part of our lawn and we replanted new grass, but our lawn looks very unhealty with a lot of try, burned like spots. What can I do to have a healthy lawn, and how do I go about creating my flower bed around the tree. I like to put a border around the tree like a small wall maybe. I want the flower bed be higher than the actual lawn. We have mostly clay dirt. Can you give me some advice and/or help. Thanks.

Answer: Two words: Container Gardening.

Question: What should I get for my gardening grandfather for Christmas? I've bought for everyone but my grandfather. He's 82 and loves gardening and water gardening. Usually, I get him a bird feeder (he loves bird watching) or something that has to do with hummingbirds. This year I'm at a loss. I'm a first year teacher on my own and on a very limited budget. Any ideas?

Answer: Subscription to Birds and Blooms

Question: What is an easy way to start gardening? I will return home at the end of July and would like to start some sort of gardening project in August. But I have never done any kind of gardening/landscaping. I have no idea what kind to buy and plant. I am completely clueless. We live in Kansas were we experience all 4 seasons. It gets quite windy in our area. The front of the house is facing the south.

Answer: (August is not a good time of year to start gardening in the USA except for states such as south Florida) You are gonna love gardening, don't try to do it all in one year. Get to know where the sun shines the most, and where the shaded areas are. Because you will need flowers for the sun areas, and flowers for the shaded areas. Since you are a beginner, this year start your garden with plants that you get from a garden center or nursery. They are called bedding plants and come in a six pack. Look for a little tag sticking in the six pact showing directions on how to grow the plants. If the tag is not there, ask for one or buy something else. Directions are VERY important. Seeds are not always easy to grow. And wildflowers are the hardest so don't be disappointed if they don't show up. Two good things to do for yourself is to call your local County Extension Service and ask for all the information that they have about gardening in your area. They usually have a packet/kit of things for the home gardener. And number two would be to pick up a couple of beginner books. You really do need to know about soil, compost, mulch and etc. To keep from over watering or not watering enough, buy a water analyzer from a nursery or garden center. Be sure to read the directions. This will be one of your best tools. Send for some free gardening catalogs and get use to the different types of plants, colors, and when to plant. They are filled with good informtion and pictures. And they will keep you company during the long winter months. Here is a list of just a very few. There are hundreds more: http://www.waysidegardens.com http://www.dutchbulbs.com http://www.jacksonandperkins.com (Roses) http://www.oakesdaylilies.com (Daylilies) http://www.caladium.com (Caladiums) http://www.parkseed.com http://www.burpee.com Other catalogs: http://www.leevalley.com http://www.gardeners.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Container/pots/window boxes needs: All need holes in the bottem for water drainage, Potting soil that comes in bags, Slow release fertilizer for flowers (not for green plants), OR liquid fertilizer that will need to be used more often-read directions, Water crystals to be mixed into the soil for holding water, Bedding plants or full grown plants. Here is an excellent link to check out for color combinations and plants that look good together: http://www.fernlea.com/awesomeaccents/recipes.html

Question: Is there any difference between flower arrangement and gardening? Is there any difference between flower arrangement and gardening?There are various types of gardening these days-gardening, terrace gardening & indoor gardening? Does indoor gardening differ from flower arrangement?

Answer: Yes, there is a difference. Gardening has to do with growing living plants (flowering or not) - and the venue doesn't much matter. traditional (outside in the ground), in containers, terrace, indoor...it can all be called "gardening". Flower arrangement has to do with assembling cut flowers into pleasing displays. They are not growing - they've been cut.

Question: What kind of gardening book should I get her? My mom hasn't really ever gardened before. Last year she tried, but didn't get into it much. We are into the whole organic foods thing so I thought we should garden to save some money on all the produce we buy. Do you know of any good gardening books for beginners like my mom?

Answer: If Square Foot Gardening is still available, it's a great book for beginners! Not overwhelming at all. There was also a book called something like lasagna gardening......fun but if you don't have access to the stuff, probably not practical. Gardening for Dummies.........?? No offense, just they usually break it down into simple sections. If you are in the US you can contact your Cooperative Extension Service in your county. They have gardening brochures that may be helpful. Also they have the Master Gardeners, trained volunteers to answer your (many) questions. That's their job.

Question: What are some recommended books for newbies to gardening? Especially helpful if they're about small spaces, herbs, and organic gardening. I have an apartment and I'd like to have a small organic herb and flower garden on my deck, but I'm not sure where to start. Thanks!

Answer: Mel Bartholomew's "square foot gardening" method is really inspiring, and can teach you to fit a lot of plants into a small space. (Here's the site; there's also a book: http://www.squarefootgardening.com/) For nuts and bolts kind of gardening, I like Barbara Damrosch's Garden Primer (from amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Garden-Primer-Barbara-Damrosch/dp/0894803166). If you are into preserving foods at all, I really like Mike and Nancy Bubel's books; the root cellar book has a lot of info about planning your garden, too. They also have one on seed-starting. (From amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Root-Cellaring-Natural-Storage-Vegetables/dp/0882667033/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1231314436&sr=1-1 also http://www.amazon.com/New-Seed-Starters-Handbook/dp/0878577521/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1231314436&sr=1-7) Good luck, and have fun!

Question: What is the best online gardening forum? I live in the New England area and am relatively new to gardening, if that makes any difference. Thanks in advance!

Answer: http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/neweng/

Question: What is the type of gardening/farming when you put different plants near each other to help protect from pests? I am trying to find more information about the type of gardening or farming where you maybe plant a blueberry bush underneath an apple tree. This is supposed to allow natural type pesticides as well as keep soil rich.

Answer: Its called companion planting. It can be used for various purposes. Some plants help to deter pests from other plants, such as garlic. Some help by attracting pests away from other plants, like planting aphid attracting Calendula next to roses. Some enrich the soil, like Dandelion that draws up nutrients from deep in the soil. Some contribute to the health of sickly plants, like chamomile (which also protects seedlings against damping off disease). Some attract beneficial insects that feed on insect that are infesting your garden, like Queen Anne's Lace that attracts parasitic wasps. There are a number of excellent books out there that cover companion planting in depth, such as Carrots Love Tomatoes, Roses Love Garlic by Louise Riotte Here are a few sites that might interest you http://www.sheridannurseries.com/gardensite/subGARDENTIP25mainframe.htm http://www.mi.ca/compendium/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_companion_plants

Question: Do you have a book recommendation about Container Gardening for Vegetables? I'm a novice gardener and I'm interested in starting a vegetable garden next year, but would need to do it in containers. Do you have any book recommendations for container gardening? I'm also looking for suggestions on how to get started and what would be easy to grow in containers. Thanks!

Answer: Lowe's sells a great book on container gardening published by Sunset and that is how I got started. Although now I live on about an acre, I started gardening in containers on an enclosed condo patio. I still have over 200 plants growing in containers in my yard, including herbs, citrus and veggies. Tomatoes, peppers and herbs are great to grow in containers. I grow 5 different varieties of tomatoes, 3 pepper varieties and a host of herbs like thyme, sage, chives, basil, 2 kinds of oregano, tarragon, dill, mint, chamomile...and some others I don't remember right now. I found growing vine plants like cucumber, pumpkin and squash is a little tricky in containers, but they do show you how in the Sunset book. For free advice on gardening in containers in your zone, you can contact a master gardener or the county agricultural extension.

Question: What are the best books on gardening and houseplants? I'm wanting a new book or two on gardening, and one that has a bit of focus on houseplants and overwintering plants indoors. I'm also thinking about one with details on starting from seed and propagating. Which books are the most informative, with in-depth information and tips? I need something that will be useful to me in a cold climate. Any links to good sites are also appreciated. I'm looking for a book, a hard copy, something that I can read in bed or when the internet's out.

Answer: All New Square Foot Gardening is a great book for outdoor gardening including seed starting. I also second the suggestion for Rodale's Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening. As far as houseplants it depends what you want to grow. I think Taylor's Guide to Houseplants is good but if you are like me and prefer growing more unusual stuff like lemons and herbs it won't be very helpful. It is a good idea to find some at the library so you can look through them thoroughly and see what you think.

Question: What are the best plants for gardening in Arizona? I want to start gardening but I am not so sure what is best for the climate here in Arizona.

Answer: Agave, cactus, ephedra, nolina=bear grass, many types of yucca, our Lord's candle, chamise, manzanita, desert holly, red barberry, ceanothos, Texas ranger, hollyleaf cherry, catalina cherry, lemonade berry, California buckwheat, needlegrass, sage, coffeebery, columbine, dudleya, fescue, iris, snowberry, desert marigold, chocolate daisy, pink fairyduster, and many, many more! Try the Arizona Native Plant Society, P. O. Box 41206, Sun Station, Tucson, AZ 85704