The tendency of the central or terminal shoot that grows upward to inhibit the development of branching side shoots. To make a plant bushier or shorter, gardeners pinch the terminal shoots, which then permits the side shoots to develop.
It seems that home improvement stores are making their gardening supply and nursery stocks more expansive year by year. I think this is because DIY lawn and garden care is the easiest to break into as a homeowner. You can buy gardening products in various stores or nurseries, or you can order gardening products from catalogs, or even order them online. The trick is in knowing what you need for the jobs you plan to undertake.
You will obviously need the basic gardening tools no matter what you are planting, such as a hoe, spade, and maybe even a shovel. You must have watering supplies, like a hose, sprinkler and watering can. Other possibilities include a spade, a pot (if you are pot planting), and a pair of gloves for comfort, some pruning shears and a rake. Then, of course, there are the essentials such as the lawn mower and weed whacker, but we are mainly going to focus here on the basic landscape/gardening tools and leave the grass for another day. (more…)
What do the terms grafting and budding mean?
Budding is a form of grafting. Grafting is the art of attaching a piece of one plant to another plant, creating a new plant. Grafting is usually done because the desired plant is extremely difficult if not impossible to propagate through other means. Dogwoods, for example, are easily grown from seed, however, it is next to impossible to grow a Pink Dogwood from seed. The seeds from a Pink Dogwood will produce seedlings that are likely to flower white.
The most common method for producing Pink Dogwood trees is to remove a single bud from a Pink Dogwood tree and slip it under the bark of a White Dogwood seedling. This process is known as budding, and the seedling is known as the rootstock. This is usually done during the late summer months when the bark of the White Dogwood seedling can be easily separated from the tree, and the seedling is about 1/4” in diameter. (more…)
All greenhouse owners have experienced it at one time or another, munched on plants, missing leaves, and more. There are more than just bugs in my greenhouse. Over the years I’ve seen a whole menagerie of creatures setting up home in my greenhouse. For years I had a huge warty toad that helped despatch slugs and snails fro the nooks and crannies inside my greenhouse. Sadly he died this summer, but I’ve seen lots of tiny toads crawling about the garden and I’m hoping one or more may take over where he left off.
There’s a comfy chair in my greenhouse, the idea was to occasionally sit and read and escape the phone, but the reality was that one of my cats found it and claimed it as her own. Now I very occasionally get me chair back but to be honest I rarely have time to simply sit in the greenhouse, more’s the pity. (more…)
We only have one world to live in. We need to take our own share to keep this world going in a natural way and as clean as possible. So many people are leaving a huge footprint on the world by using the natural resources and not replenishing or limiting their consumption. At this rate we could really be in trouble when it comes to
Nowadays, large numbers of individuals are using organic products and that number is growing. From organic food, to organically grown products like clothes, extra long hemp shower curtains, bedding and even household furniture.
“Green house” is the new term for an environmentally clean home. The house is built using organic, environmentally friendly materials. Walls and floors are made of wood while the decor, bedding and long shower curtains are also made from natural materials. With tankless water heaters, solar panels and triple pane windows, these homes are designed to keep the energy consumption to a minimum. The ability to generate power and water in your own home makes going organic very unique and it intrigues many people. Being less wasteful and more organic at home can be done in many different ways. (more…)
