Plant Gardens 101

Those of you who live in Zone 9 planting areas will be happy to know that the high summer temperatures come with an unseen benefit – a long planting season. While most gardeners are tilling up their gardens before the first frost hits in October, most people in Zone 9 will be able to start a winter vegetable garden mid-month and have a harvest a few months later.

Winter Vegetable Garden Preparation
Winter vegetables require a little bit of forethought and extra attention. If you’ve never planted vegetables before it’s probably a good idea to start an easier spring/summer garden. Winter gardening is considered by some to be very advanced, but in the Zone 9 area it’s actually pretty easy because there is no snowfall and the winter temperatures are relatively mild.

The most important thing to do is to keep your plants safe from the cold weather. You can use a cold frame to protect your plants. It’s constructed out of a PVC pipe frame with greenhouse plastic spread over the top. The cold frame can be set out when you know there is going to be a frost overnight. (more…)

Naturalized water gardens that may include a waterfall, stream and/or pond, add such an incredible creative touch to your landscaping. Working in harmony with nature they offer a sanctuary for your senses. Astonishingly, they require little maintenance. Periodic cleaning out the skimmer of leaves and adding beneficial bacteria is essentially the extent of regular care. It is important to maintain clear, clean water and to do this without the use of unsightly and costly filtration systems and chemicals. Water gardens should be naturally self-regulating ecosystems requiring significantly less maintenance than if the area were planted in grass. However, like most everything you need to prepare your special sanctuary for the winter.

The cool weather of autumn brings on noticeable changes in a water garden. As long as fish feed, they will continue to produce waste. Dying aquatic vegetation that is not removed from the pond adds to the organic load. The fact that aquatic plants are entering dormancy allows for increased nitrate availability. This means an increased growth of filamentous, string algae, that slimy stuff. No need to be alarmed. The ecosystem is still healthy. This is considered normal transition. Where the sunlight penetration is high on your water garden in shallow streams and pools, the algae will increase the most. This is to be expected. Cold doesn’t bother the algae. (more…)

November is a busy month in the garden. Time spent now in pruning, tidying and protecting your plants and trees will pay dividends in the spring.

Weeding in November prevents roots thickening and spreading over the winter months, making them a nuisance when the temperature warms up in March. So as soon as ground becomes clear, dig over the soil and spread manure. This is also a good time to double dig areas of ground where total replanting or a new vegetable garden is being planned or poor/heavy soil is preventing growth.

Just remove the top layer to form a shallow trench and then dig over the soil at the bottom of the trench adding compost. Then repeat, filling the first trench with the top soil from the second; the soil from the first trench then fills in the last trench. (more…)

By implementing a few simple gardening techniques to your garden in the fall you can help nurture a healthier vegetable garden that’s enriched and revitalized when the spring growing season rolls around. You’ll also enjoy the benefits of a more productive vegetable patch and harvest fresh produce far earlier and with less effort. 

Fall Garden Clean-Up
The first step is to shift some of the routine gardening tasks that you normally perform in the springtime, and instead take care of them during the fall. At the end of your summer growing season clear out all of the weeds, garden debris, spent vines, and any left over fruits and vegetables that weren’t harvested, rather than allowing these items to remain in the garden over the winter.    (more…)

Many people do not realize that most bonsai plants are outdoor plants. To properly cultivate and maintain most bonsai trees they should not be kept inside but should be outside year round.

There are a group of what are called indoor bonsai trees. These are from warmer climates and are usually non-traditional species such as palm trees. Because they are from a warmer climate they do need to be kept indoors in most locales. However if you are keeping traditional native bonsai trees in the US then chances are that tree needs to be outside. Most people do not realize how important it is for these trees to be wintered outside in a natural climate. For your tree to have a healthy and natural growing cycle it is critical for it to have this period of winter dormancy.

To give your plant this necessary period you will need to winter it someplace outside. The best way to accomplish this is to remove the tree from it’s container and plant it in your yard. (more…)

With this guide, you will be prepared to winterize a water garden pond. Make sure that you follow each step to ensure the health of your plants and fish. It should be easy and quick to maintain a healthy water garden pond.

This is a guide for those with a soft pond liner. If you have a hard pond liner, you have many less steps to take, which can be found easily online. Make sure that you check which type of liner you have before you begin to winterize your pond.

Your first step is to empty half of the water from the pond. You can do this by taking the hose that is connected to your pump, and reconnecting it so that the water is pumped onto the ground. This will make it easier for you to see while you clean. (more…)

Here it is fall and the garden is ready to snooze. Hold it, there is more work to be completed. Some mulching and some pruning. Those fallen leaves and dying annuals are not for the trash but that organic material is black gold for the garden.

A step that is both ordinarily and commonly neglected, to lay the garden to bed for the winter, is the addition of organic matter. More people should use organic matter in their beds rather than casting off their yard waste.See, this is right at our feet, yard waste. It has to be raked or mowed, so why not utilize it for Mother Nature’s blanket - mulch.

It is impossible to put too much organic matter into the soil. Fall is a good time for many reasons. One good reason is all of the materials that you want are there for free, leaves and dying plants. (more…)