Plant Gardens 101

Many do-it-yourselfers find building a greenhouse to be a fun and rewarding project. While many gardeners build a greenhouse successfully, over the years, we have also witnessed other do-it-yourself greenhouse building projects that would have benefited from better planning before they started building a greenhouse. Before beginning construction, you should do plenty of research on how to build a greenhouse. Be sure to speak with other greenhouse gardeners to get their input and suggestions, but also consult many of the relevant greenhouse construction and planning books available. You need to consider your regional climate, the best location to build a greenhouse, as well as the greenhouse constrution materials and the general greenhouse design you want. (more…)

Cooler evenings and shorter days—everything points to summer’s end. It’s time to move plants indoors. Here are a few things to consider before you do.

Realistically assess your indoor space. Whether you plan to begin spring seedlings or grow winter crops, remember to allow room for these activities. Most plants you move in grow larger over the winter, not smaller, so factor this in.
Examine your candidates. To justify the valuable space they’ll occupy, these plants should be of value to you. Are they healthy? Are they likely to stay within bounds for several months? Are they difficult to replace? Of course, winter-blooming plants make a special claim to indoor space.

Check for signs of insects. Some are difficult to detect with the unaided eye, but plants themselves often signal when something is wrong. Are the plant’s leaves unusually pale, puckered or spotted? Aphids–probably the biggest problem in greenhouse settings– are large enough to see, but very clever about locating themselves. Check under leaves, particularly young ones, and at the tips of growing stems; often these tiny insects are colored to match their host plant. (more…)

Have you adored orchids for your whole life, always giving them as gifts instead of regular flowers, or perhaps even had your own potted orchids? Since you’re so passionate, and have the know-how, you should start your own home business as an orchid cultivator by starting your own orchid greenhouse!

Let’s not get carried away, though. Before you can sell all those gorgeous orchids, you need to build a greenhouse for them to grow. Not only that, but you’ll have to make sure you can afford the financial investment involved in your growing operation. It is not just a matter of putting them in the soil, then harvesting them, you have to take special care of the plants like they were your own children. You need the right type of soil, specific growth ingredients that orchids need to thrive, and so on. So, before you jump run out and start buying tons of stuff, ask yourself this: “Am I ready to grow my own orchids? Do I have the money needed, the will power required and the special knowledge required?” If you answered “yes,” then read on. If not, you might want to wait for a while before building your own orchid greenhouse, or just keep dreaming.

Assuming you have what it takes, then it’s time to build! Here are five critical steps towards making this dream a reality: (more…)

Garden gloves are essential for anyone who works in the garden. The positive aspects about garden gloves is that they can help protect your hands from getting dirty, and from getting irritations or skin conditions from plants, insects or dirt. When you are working outside in your garden, you want to make sure that your hands are protected while you successfully plant your seedlings. Sure you want to have your garden look great, but why not keep your hands looking the same while also protecting them from anything hazardous that nature has to offer?

The Nitrile Touch Garden Glove from Ozbo is great for any gardener. These gloves are comfortable and also breathable with a nylon back. These gloves can fit to any hand and are also resistant to any abrasion and puncture. These gloves come in all sorts of colors and sizes and fit normally easily and comfortably. When you need a glove to keep your hands looking great while out in the garden and keeping them safe and protected, then these may be the best option for you. (more…)

All of us know that garden sheds are structures in the garden, generally made of wood, used for the storage of mowers and other gardening equipment. But this scenario is fast changing. Garden sheds are evolving in a lot of respects, from the kind of material used to build them, to their usage. This article will tell you all you need to know about garden sheds - from their construction and to the new trends that are setting in.

There are four major styles of garden sheds, classified on the basis of their roofs: the Gable; the Salt Box; the Cottage-Style Shed; and the Gambrel. The Gable has a triangular shape, while the Salt Box has a short gable-like roof in the front and a deep slope in the back portion. The Cottage-Style Shed is also called the Hip Roof-Style Shed and is characterized by four sides, all of which are sloped. The Gambrel has a roof that resembles that of a barn. The look of garden sheds is fast changing from a traditional, subtle structure to a modern, stylish one.

Traditionally, garden sheds have been constructed of wood. However, in today’s times, a number of materials are being used. Metal garden sheds as well as those made from heavy-moulded plastics like PVC and polyethylene are all the rage now because wooden garden sheds need to be maintained to protect them from wear and tear and the effects of harsh weather. Metal sheds are more resilient and durable but they need to be protected from the formation of rust. Whereas PVC or polyethylene sheds are sturdy, rust-proof and are less affected by weather. (more…)

There are many greenhouse accessories you will need when you decide to build a greenhouse. Some of these greenhouse accessories are crucial to the success of the greenhouse.Greenhouse ventilation is an area that can not be forgotten when it comes to greenhouse accessories. It is probably the most important requirement for a greenhouse. Ventilation has two purposes; it provides fresh air to plants and it also provides cooling. If you do not have proper ventilation your plants will not grow and flourish.

Vents and fans can be used as ways to provide greenhouse ventilation. Exhaust fans blow the hot, stale air out of the greenhouse and bring cooler, fresh air into the structure. Vents can be used to supply fresh air to the plants and they also help to cool the greenhouse.

Heating a greenhouse is also a necessity in most parts of the country. What you need will vary depending on how the greenhouse is used and what the desired temperature is. There are several types of heaters available. At the very least, an emergency heater should be on hand for unexpected dips below freezing.Shade covers can block the hot rays from the sun when needed. Shade covers will keep the greenhouse at a cooler temperature during long, hot summers.

Don’t forget about flooring. The floor of your greenhouse is functional and also can be aesthetic. Take a look at your choices and find the flooring that is best for your needs.

Finding the right greenhouse accessories will complete your greenhouse.

About the Author: Michelle Torres has nearly 20 years experience using and designing greenhouses and is an Oregon avid gardener. You can find additional useful greenhouse information at http://www.greenhousecatalog.com

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Choosing the right birdfeeder and/or birdhouse can be a rather difficult decision. Anytime is the right time to mount or hang your birdfeeder or birdhouse. As birds begin to search for a place to feed and create their nest, make sure your birdfeeders are mounted or hung and your birdhouse is ready for their inspection.

Birds that usually occupy bird houses include wood ducks, goldeneyes, buffleheads, mergansers, American kestrels, owls, woodpeckers, northern flickers, flycatchers, tree swallows, purple martins, titmice, chickadees, nuthatches, wrens, bluebirds, starlings, sparrows, and house finches.

Ever wonder which birdfeeder to use and/or what bird food will attract certain birds? Your solution is here. Use black oil sunflower seed in a tube feeder with a tray to attract cardinals, finches, jays, sparrows, chickadees, pine siskins, titmouses, nuthatches, woodpeckers, and redpolls. Use a thistle feeder with thistle seed to attract finches. Use a tube feeder with peanuts to attract cardinals, sparrows, starlings, chickadees, juncos, finches, titmouses, grackles, doves, and jays. Use a hummingbird feeder with hummingbird nectar to attract, your guessed it, a hummingbird! (more…)

Garden Sheds - how much space do You Need?
If somebody ever makes a garden shed that can expand in size at the same rate most of us collect the sort of’things’ that finish up in the garden shed, they are sure to make zillions. Till then, it’s lucky there are so many different sizes and shapes of garden sheds available that there’s one to suit each one of us at virtually any of life’s collection points!

For the single man or woman, with only a small garden or yard area there is a fabulous little garden shed 1.52 metres wide by 0.78 metre deep available for less than 200 Australian bucks. It’s sufficiently big to hold a mower, a few basic gardening tools, a bag or two of potting mix, maybe some sporting equipment, a box or two of total junk, and even the garden gnomes your cousin gave your for xmas.

Most garden sheds have a single hinged access door and an easy slide bolt making access quick and easy. When your aunt visits, the gnomes can be quickly utilized. Stand them just outside of the shed and let her know you want them to protect the fairy that lives in the shed. Anyone who’d give you garden gnomes for xmas would believe that, right? (more…)

You do not have to be a plant lover to have a home garden. If you do not have the aptitude for gardening for reasons best known to yourself, you may opt to keep butterflies instead by planting a butterfly garden. It is the most natural way to add color and movement to your garden without having to use a lot of labor. Another plus to having a butterfly garden is the knowledge that you will be helping in saving these beautiful creatures from extinction.
First things first, you need to attract them. Butterflies love flowers. However big you want your garden to be is entirely up to you. It will look better though if you put it in a corner. They need to have water otherwise they will not stay in your garden long enough for you to call it a butterfly garden. Provide clean water in the butterfly garden. You may put the water in a container or better yet; a tiny pond on the ground will do.

The garden environment should be as natural as possible. If you live close to pollution of any kind then you will not be able to attract these cute creatures. Noise pollution, air pollution by insecticides, water pollution etc are some of the turn offs for the butterflies. (more…)

When you first look at a set of garden shed building plans, there’s an excitement and often a temptation to rush in and get started. If you can curb your enthusiasm for a short while, you’ll find the shed building process easier, faster and much smooth.

To follow a garden shed plan, you need a plan!

The first step is to look over the plans. All good shed plans will come with step-by-step instructions. Work your way through these mentally, slowly, following the steps on the printed plans so you know what’s required in each phase of the construction. See how each section is built and how the sections connect to each other.

This ‘dry run’ will make the actual construction process easier as you’ll already have a mental picture of what needs to be done. Make a note on the plans if there are any steps require special care or may be problematic.

Pay particular attention to any details on the shed plan such as door and window jambs, the gable overhang, eave details and so on. Make sure you understand which parts are required and how they fit together. (more…)

Ready for a new hobby? There are hundreds of hobbies and greenhouse gardening may be just the right one for you. If you love working with flowers, plants, vegetables or herbs, a greenhouse lets you plant, cultivate, and watch things grow more of the year and you can experiment with growing unusual varieties of plants.

Greenhouse gardening is good for the gardener as well as for the plants. A greenhouse gardener is able to spend quiet moments without stress. It can be a very enjoyable hobby that promotes self esteem and a feeling of pride. It is also a good hobby for the person who likes to experiment and try new things.

Before beginning your greenhouse hobby you may want to look at online retail sites that sell greenhouses. You will get a good idea of what is needed and the price of various greenhouses. (more…)

Do you want to an attractive walkway to lead way to your beautiful yard or garden? Then a great way to give your garden a new look is to try garden stepping stones in your walkway.

Stepping stones are often used to give a natural looking walkway to your garden through the front door of your home. Stepping stones are considered as a work of art which give your walkway or garden a personalize signature of your lifestyle. Using stepping stone in your lawn for walkway not only personalizes your living style but also an adds touch of beauty to your garden.

How to make a garden walkway using stepping stones

A series of steps we have discussed below which could be helpful and you can give a better look to your garden using stepping stones. (more…)

Here are some tips to help you build a great greenhouse:

To build a workable greenhouse, you will need a construction plan. Then you can consider ways and means. There are several ways to go about building.

You can draw up a contract with a manufacturer of greenhouses to supply all the materials, all the heating and cooling equipment, and the masonry. You can even get him to find you a builder to erect the structure, and also a plumber for the water and heating installations.

Or you can purchase the material you need (new or used), and have some local labor come in and build your greenhouse. Or you can do it yourself, perhaps with some help from your family.

If you prefer the prefabricated units, you can erect a greenhouse with little or no extra help. You can glaze it with regulation glass panes, Fiberglas, or plastic. Ready and able to supply all this are innumerable firms. As you plan your greenhouse, there are further decisions you will have to make.

Where to Place Your Greenhouse

You must decide upon a site, and this involves several considerations. You want a location where you can work conveniently and where there is maximum sunlight. Even though you may plan to start with only shade-loving plants, you will probably find that other kinds are profitable, too, and so eventually you will want to be able to grow light-loving plants. You can always apply shading to make a house darker, but you can’t make the sun come around to a greenhouse that has been unwisely located in a shaded place.

Fluorescent and incandescent lighting can be used to raise light intensities in winter and on dark days, and this is a very practical means of utilizing small problem or special-purpose areas (as discussed later).

But you certainly don’t want artificial lighting to be your primary light source—not while sunlight is free!

Therefore, you want a location with a south-eastern or southern exposure, and the land should be well-drained. Then, for the sake of customers, you need a location which is easily found, and where parking will be easy.

If your eventual aim is expansion—that is, having a series of greenhouses—plan that series from the very start. Make your first house fit in—on paper—with those you will build later, so as to form a complete unit. Many greenhouse operations start on a small scale but soon need to expand, so select an adequate site at the start.

What Type of Greenhouse?

There is a type of greenhouse to meet every preference, every gardening need, every budget. I have seen sun porches and chicken houses converted into greenhouses; greenhouses built as second-story units over garages; free-standing or detached greenhouses; step-into pit houses, and many kinds of attached-to-dwelling ones. There are heated, partially heated, and unheated greenhouses, each successfully designed to suit someone’s gardening-for-profit plan.

Greenhouse designs are numerous but types fall into these main divisions: span, lean-to, uneven or partial span, and the pit house, which may be any of these types but with a greater portion of the walls below ground level. If you have plenty of room—real acreage or a large lot—the free-standing span house may be best for you. This type, if properly placed, receives maximum sunlight throughout the day in every season.

A lean-to, as the name suggests, is erected against the side of another building. The partial span or uneven type has a greater distance from eaves to gable on one side of the house than on the other. In the north, the low winter sun comes directly through such a roof for maximum light. And in the summer, when the sun is high, this greenhouse draws light reflection from both sides.

The cost of pit-house construction is low. Many growers use pit houses only during early spring and into fall. They are left idle during the coldest months of the year to avoid a heating bill. Other growers operate a pit house economically by having it dug off the basement and served by the household heating system. This arrangement affords ample space for potting, household tools, and other necessary equipment.

Before you do anything—even before you start dreaming about building a greenhouse—check with your city engineer or building inspector. It is important to know what the building regulations are as to greenhouse placement and construction. In some residential areas, construction of any kind of commercial structure is prohibited. Find out everything about all relevant laws—and don’t consider yourself “too smart” to need a lawyer.

Published At: Isnare Free Articles Directory http://www.isnare.com
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About Gerald Mason
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Storage space is forever a challenge. Everybody needs more storage space. One of the easiest ways to acquire more spaces to store stuff in is to obtain a shed and place it in the garden or backyard. With the variety of sheds on hand making a decision as to which kind would be most appropriate for your needs, can be a confusing task. One of the choices you can reach is getting a vinyl storage shed. Let’s discuss vinyl storage sheds and try to get a hold the most information in order to make an clever decision as to buying one. Vinyl sheds, same as plastic sheds, have one terrific plus. They are completely resilient to corrosion, pests and insects. Termites would not cause any problems as they do with wooden sheds and the elements would not cause it to rot or rust. (more…)

If you want to get your own greenhouse it can be easy to do. First decide how you will use it (to winter over plants, get an early start on seeds, grow cool or warm weather crops, or a combination), and find out what greenhouse will best work for your plants. There are many different greenhouse kits to choose so it’s important to read lots of information about greenhouse kits to make an informed decision and know your greenhouse is right for your area and your crop.

When looking for a greenhouse kit, you will also have to consider size. Measure how big of space you have for the greenhouse (preferably in an area of your yard that gets southern exposure). You may be fortunate to live on acreage and space is not an issue. A majority of hobby greenhouse kits start at 8?x8? or 8?x12?. Anything less than 8? wide does not give you much room to work comfortably in your greenhouse. If you have a smaller space, there will be less kit options to choose from. You may need to consider a custom designed unit and look for greenhouse covering options.

If you have never used a greenhouse before, you may find that a cold frame would work better for you until you know how you will use your greenhouse. It will be less expensive and you can use it during two seasons to let you grow a bit longer out of the year. This will give you the chance to see and learn how growing under cover can open up your growing possibilities. What you choose is up to you. There are many greenhouse kits and companies that are ready to help you along the way. You just have to get online and find a greenhouse that works for you and fits in your budget.

About the Author:
Michelle Torres has nearly 20 years experience using and designing greenhouses and is an Oregon avid gardener. You can find additional useful greenhouse information at http://www.greenhousecatalog.com

View more articles from Michelle Torres

This article is provided by Amazines.com - The ULTIMATE Article Database