More Articles: General Vegetable Garden Advice
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Damping off is the single term used to describe underground, soil line, or crown rots of seedlings due to unknown causes. The term actually covers several soil borne diseases of plants and seed borne fungi. The fungi which cause root rot are species of Phyium, Phytophthora, Rhizoctonia and Fusarium.
There are two types of damping off: pre-emergence and post- emergence. In pre-emergence damping-off, seeds may rot and seedlings may decay before they emerge. In post-emergence damping off the seedlings emerge then may pale, curl, wilt, and collapse from a rot at the soil line and below. The base of the stem is generally water-soaked at first then turns gray to brown or black then rots.
No matter how much people try to encourage the wildlife to visit and live in their gardens. There will always be occasions and/or parts of the garden where we do not welcome them. This being mainly when we are planting young seedlings or a crop of edible plants is getting close to harvest. So we have to strike a balance between encouraging the wildlife as well as being able to discourage them at other times or from certain particular places.
There are four ways of protecting your plants or crop from the ravages of birds and animals; these methods include fences, scarers, covers and sprays. Here we will deal with suggestions for the last three of these ideas.
Have you ever thought about keeping a gardener's diary to record what you plant and where you plant it? Keeping a diary will help you plan next year's garden by recording which plants grew well and which ones didn't. You can also note which colors do or don't look good together, or which plants overwhelm one another. Keep a record of how long the sun shines in different areas of your yard so you can find plants that require the appropriate amount of sunlight. In our yard, the soil is not the same everywhere. We have made do by planting different kinds of plants in different types of soil.
Vegetable gardens have been around as long as time and offer a perfect organic solution for family dinners as well as a relaxing hobby that provides self-gratification. When you think of a vegetable garden, a rectangular shape with long rows immediately comes to mind. The truth is, you can create your garden in any shape you want, as small or large as you can manage.
(ARA) - The makings for nature's best, most complete fertilizer may be wilting in your refrigerator's vegetable bin. Kitchen waste, along with grass clippings, leaves and other garden waste can all be used to create compost.
Compost actually improves soil structure; it loosens clay soils and helps sandy soils retain water. For those committed to organic growing methods, it is a good replacement for commercial fertilizers. And it's cheap.
(ARA) - With spring fast approaching, it's time to decide what you would like to do with your garden. Seed catalogs conjure visions of beautiful bouquets around your home, their sweet fragrances permeating every room. Your appetite is whetted for meals prepared with homegrown vegetables. But how can you best prepare that plot of soil behind your house to help make your garden grow?
Slugs are major pests of horticultural plants throughout the world. They are destructive pests of home gardens, landscapes, nurseries, greenhouses, and field crops.
Slugs also pose a health threat to humans, pets and wildlife by serving as intermediate hosts for parasites such as lungworm.
To have a snake or two in the garden is good. Non-poisonous snakes, such as the common garter snakes, are beneficial creatures because they eat pest insects, mosquito larvae, slugs, snails, crickets, rats, mice, voles and even other snakes which may be poisonous.
But if you really don't want snakes in your yard and garden here are a few tips to eliminate them without hurting or killing them.
Deer are the most difficult of all pests to deter from a garden. They love many different plants. Flowers, vegetables, trees and shrubs are all on their menu.
The best way to keep deer out of a garden is by using a fence that is at least 6 feet high. If it's a small garden that may be feasible but for large gardens or yards, the cost is prohibitive, or possibly not practical.
