Gardening Tips | ButterflySwirl » Gardening

A Guide To Pruning – What You Need To Know

Lindsay Hamilton — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 14:58:07 +0000

There are many ways to maintain your garden. One way is pruning shrubs or trees. With the growing season in full force, pruning is an optimal way to get rid of any extra plant growth. For new gardeners, pruning may seem like a daunting task. Don’t despair because pruning is a cinch. Learn what you need to know when pruning.

Many new gardeners may ask, what garden tool do I use? What time of year do I prune? All these questions an many more will be covered here.

Essentially, pruning can be done all year round. Trees and shrubs are ideal to prune as they can be shaped into a decorative design. Now the best time to prune trees or shrubs really depends on how fast they grow.

Here’s a simple guideline to pruning:

Remove Any Dead Debris Or Branches – clean around the base of the plant, shrub or tree and then remove any dead plant that is still one the plant.
Thin out crowded areas – If you see dense patches where branches criss-cross or form at an odd angle, prune those back
When Pruning, Use A Pruning Sheer – This, by far, is the best garden tool for pruning. They come in different sizes so pick ones that suit the shrubs, trees and plants you have

Compost Is Good For Your Garden

Lindsay Hamilton — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 19:03:55 +0000

Compost is a simple and inexpensive way to make your garden brighter, bigger and more beautiful. Compost will produce healthier plants and vegetables and make your soil healthy. Compost is great for indoor gardens, vegetables gardens or your flower garden.

Compost isn’t only beneficial to your garden, but it is great for the earth. When using it, it will reduce the organic material that goes to waste and goes to your local landfill. The compost will reduce yard waste that needs to be hauled to the landfill by up to 75%.

Compost will help your soil if you find that your soils is hard and not nutrient dense. So how to you make compost? Very simply.

Before you make your own compost you want to purchase a good size compost bin. Compost bins are ideal as they have a lid, easy to transport, can be easily accessed and has a seal all around so no gaps are created. You can build one yourself if you want to start right away. Once you find or build your compost bin, place it directly on the soil in a sunny or partial sunny area that is free of water.

What to compost? Almost anything that was once living except meat, dairy and cooked food as these can attract unwanted guests. For maximum results use a mixture of nitrogren rich ingredients and carbon rich ingredients.

Examples of nitrogen rich ingredients include, but are not limited to, raw veggies peelings, coffee grounds, grass cuttings and soft green prunings. Examples of carbon rich ingredients include, but are not limited to, cardboard like egg boxes, newspaper, wood shavings and junk mail.

There you have it, It’s easy, affordable and helps your garden and the environment. So start your compost today!.

Planting The Best Tomatoes Yet

Lindsay Hamilton — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 16:29:20 +0000

It’s spring time now and gardeners must be thinking one thing: time to plant that veggie garden. Most seasoned gardeners know what type of veggies they want, but for those newbies who want to give it a try, why not start with a delicious tomatoes. They come in handy in everyday cooking and they are easy to grow.

When you think of a tomato I’m probably sure you envision hothouse or plum or even cherry tomatoes. Nowadays, when you go to your local garden shop, you will be surprised to see a variety of different types of tomatoes. For example, there are disease-resistant types, or healthy types that have more Lychopene to choose from.

Which ever type of tomato you choose it is important to have a good space with nutrient rich soil. If you already have rich, dark, nutrient soil on your property, use your own and make sure you remove any debris or rocks. How can you tell if you own soil is nutrient dense? Look for worms, look and see if the soil is dark and airy and see what is already growing with that soil. If you find that your soil is dry, heavy and devoid of plant life, consider adding nutrients in your soil to prepare for a tomato plant.

Once you find a spot to plant your tomato plant, make sure you dig an adequate hole to cover the root system already in place. Fill the hole with some garden lime to help the plant avoid blossom rot at the end of the fruit. Also add some all-purpose fertilizer. Mix the two in the hole together with the soil in order for it to be mixed and evenly distributed.

Once you have you spot ready, take your tomato plant out of the container and spread the roots a bit so that it doesn’t remain square shape. Also, trim any little leaves by the base of the plant because you want to burry the tomato plant deeper in order for it to mature.

For climates that have a cooler night in the spring it is strongly recommended that your cover your growing tomato plant in order to shield it from potential frost. There are different types of shelter devices such as a glass enclosure or a wall of water out there so make sure you pick one that suits your garden.

A final thing to do for your tomato plant is to get a wire support. A square cage is adequate because it is sturdy and tall and there are good size gaps in between the wires so that you can easily pick the fruit.

Now wait! In a few short months you will have plenty of fruit for tomato salad, marinara sause or even bruschetta.