GardenersCardiff answers:

Good gardening tips – Weeds, pull as soon as you see them, they are much easier to get rid of when small and your garden looks better without them. Planting, plant one type of flower in groups of uneven numbers as it is more pleasing to the eye. Planting in drifts is also pleasing to the eye. If you have Hostas, snails and slugs love them, so take egg shells and squish them into little pieces and put around each Hosta since they will not want to crawl over them. If you want to have continual color in your garden be sure and dead-head all of your flowers and they will flower again. Happy Gardening!

GardenersCardiff answers:

1.Tomato Garden tips:

1.
Prepare the Garden
*
A young tomato plant sprouting from the seed.

The first step in planting your garden is to purchase tomato plants or seed. Start seeds indoors six to eight weeks prior to the start of the growing season to allow them to begin producing fruit sooner, and for a longer duration. Choose leafy plants with thick, green stems if purchasing seedlings. Invest in diverse types of tomatoes for maximum success and various ripening times.
Tomato plants will fruit faster when placed in a sunny location. They adapt well to most soils, but prefer a well-draining, loamy soil. To help soil nutrients recover, rotate crops so tomatoes are planted in the same location only once every three years. Cover the planting area with black plastic two to four weeks before transplanting to help warm the soil and jump-start fruit production.
Planting
*
Cherry tomatoes.

Plants should be a minimum of 6 inches tall before transplanting. Soil temperatures should range from 55 to 60 degrees F, with regular daily air temps at least 60 degrees F. Transplant on a cloudy day, after rainfall or during the late afternoon to help the plants adjust and prevent shock. Handle delicate tomato seedlings gently to prevent breaking or bruising.
For extra nutrients, spread compost over the bed and work the soil until it is loose. Tomato plants will sprout more roots from the stem, and require protection in cooler climates. In the north, dig holes deep enough to accommodate the entire root system and most of the stem. In southern climates, simply plant the root.
Care
*

A tomato garden requires some care to produce a high-yield harvest of high-quality fruit. Water a minimum of twice a week, soaking the top 6 to 8 inches of the ground. Add a layer of mulch around the plants to help them retain moisture. Fertilize a week after planting, and as needed, with a liquid or granule containing equal amounts of nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium. Secure the tomato plants to stakes, cages or a trellis support with strips of soft cloth. Pick tomatoes when the flesh is firm and fully colored.

2.Greenbeas garden tips:

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10 Easy Tips For Growing Green Beans
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Growing green beans (sometimes referred to as pole beans, snap beans, string beans, or bush beans) is quickly becoming a very popular vegetable in the vegetable garden. There is a good reason why – green beans are very easy to grow and prolific producers. Most green beans are ready to pick 45 to 60 days after germination, making them a favorite for a quick and steady harvest. If you love green beans and are interested in growing them in your vegetable garden, here are a few tips for growing the best green beans in town.
Growing Great Green Beans

Pole Green Beans
* Green beans grow best in full soil and warm soil that has reached between 65°F and 70°F.

* You can soak most green bean seeds overnight in a small dish of warm water. This will help speed up the germination process.

* Plant your green beans in fertile, well-drained soil to suppress the chances of root rot.

* Choose disease resistant varieties of green beans to prevent diseases such as rust, powdery mildew, and curly top virus.

* Maintain good spacing around green beans to increase air circulation and decrease chances of powdery mildew. Pole beans can be planted at a spacing of 2-1/2 feet, while bush beans should be planted at 3 foot intervals.

* Water your green beans at ground level using a soaker hose or drip irrigation system. This helps to keep plant leaves dry and prevent diseases.

GardenersCardiff answers:

Perhaps look at sunset magazine; they always have cute ideas for your garden!
Or perhaps go to the home depot and look at the magazines they have on gardening.

They are quite helpful!

Good luck!

GardenersCardiff answers:

Garlic and onions are a natural repellent for ants. Rosemary repels many flying insects (including flies and mosquitoes). When I plant garlic or shallots with my tomatoes, the vines grow much faster and thicker. Plant icicle radishes (let them go to seed) and yellow nasturtiums in with your zukes and melons to repel insects. Marigolds repel nematodes. Which kind of peas, green or “southern”? Don’t plant any member of the onion family around beans or peas. The vines will be stunted. Green peas get some protection from insects by planting them with geraniums or aromatic herbs. Southern peas like to be planted with cucumbers, corn, petunias, and radishes.

Good luck!

GardenersCardiff answers:

Well, its one of those things you learn by experience and a little reading. Generally speaking, most flowering plants love water so keep the soil moist. If you touch the soil and it gets hardish or chalky- like then they need a good watering. Rule of thumb is use good soil- you can buy top soil and composted manure from home depot. Mix it into the top 6-8 inches of soil so your plants can grow good. This gives the roots room to grow too. Check to see how much sun they need too. If you see a picture of a full sun on the plant then that means they need 6-8 hours of full sun a day. If it says partial shade then it needs 4-6 hours of sun a day. Check which zone you live in. The zones vary from Florida to Maine and they change generally about every 300- 600 hundred miles traveling south to north. The lower the zone number the colder your winters are. Zone is important for those plants or trees you want to come back every year these are called perennials. Annuals are generally planted every year thats why they are called annuals. Its not a bad idea to put mulch around plants. You can use anything from grass clippings to red cedar mulch or pine bark. This helps to keep weeds out and water in. Depending where you live if you are in northern canada your grass may be brown by now frost will kill it. Its too late right now to start a new lawn unless you are south of Oaklahoma. If someone ruined the lawn by over feritilizing it they could have burned it to the point of shock- which means it may come back in weeks time or they may have out right killed it. This is highly unusual. I really would seek the help of someone like Lawn Doctor they often will do free analysis of your soil to make sure theres nothing real seriously wrong with the soil and check for other things that may be going on. When you call around ask if they do a free analysis and call a few different companies to see how much they charge to get your lawn up to speed. You may have to tear up your whole lawn and start over by spreading seed and watering it everyday until it grows in again. I also want to suggest that you join one of the gardening groups on yahoo and if you are at the end of your gardening season- like most of us- then you have all winter to read a good gardening book from your local bookstore. I have a good dozen of them and there are some real great gardening books out there! Good Luck!

GardenersCardiff answers:

Water deeply once a week rather than frequent shallow watering. Deeper watering encourages deeper root growth, keeping the lawn green. Shallow watering makes for shallow roots which are intolerant of stress and will brown out quicker.
Or you can ditch the lawn altogether and plant something that is less of a water hog. There are many ground covers that don’t require as much water as lawn and look just as nice, which will save on air pollution from not having to mow with a gas lawn mower.

Edit: Never water your lawn or plants at night. It encourages mildew growth. Very bad for plants. The best time to water is early morning. From around 5am to 7am. You want the water to dry on the lawn and plants before 10 a.m., otherwise the water droplets act like magnifying glasses on the leaves and will burn them.

GardenersCardiff answers:

Yes, I love everything it happen all over the garden, the butterflies came all along, over some bushes with rose and red flowers, called Santa Rita , this is the name of that kind of bush, in which branches the sparrows, thrushes, and calenders too, like to rest in the middle of their wings,

GardenersCardiff answers:

Soil…. Getting the soil the best it can be is key to a great garden…. Whatever you have to do to get good soil is well worth the work in the end… A soil test tells you where to start…. Most soils need and do really well if given LOTS of compost…. It’s wonderful stuff!!..

Tools… Have what you need…. Digging is so much easier if you have the right tools…. My hubby’s helping son with a bed at son’s new house… They had a terrible time digging in the rocky soil of a new build…. But once they got their hands on my maddock/pick, the work went so much faster!!…. And that goes for any of the garden tools…. From wagons to pruners… Get the best you can and take good care of them!!….

Water…. After our drought, lots of us know that there’s water to be had in many places that we didn’t think about before…. I will save and store water often now… From rain barrels to soda bottles… Water is a big deal…. More soaker hoses and drip irrigation systems are on the list for this year…

Mulches…. This is one of the best things you can do for your garden, be it for flowers or for foods….. Mulch inhibits weeds, cools the soil in the hot sun and keeps soil temperatures more even during spring’s early warm days…. It saves on watering, keeps the soil moist with what water it has already…. Choose your mulch according to what you need it to do…. Be pretty?… Keep the weeds off the tomatoes?… Hold up the strawberries?…. Keep the weeds out of the flowers?…. Each mulch we typically use has a distinct reason….. Newspaper stops weeds …. Landscape fabric lets air and water thru…. Pine needles lets air thru…. Pine bark is slow to decompose and keeps cats out pretty good…. Hardwood looks special…. Colored mulches have their place I guess, but they’re too much for this old gal… And rubber mulch?.. Mmm… Is your garden bed a playground for kiddies???…. Straw over paper is great in the veggies…. Shredded paper is, too…

Research EVERYTHING…. Get the names of your plants and look them up… This computer will tell you LOADS of stuff about plants…. Don’t ever BUY a plant you don’t get a tag and a name with….. (unless you recognise it already)…. When you buy, pull that plant OUT of the pot and check the roots… Are they white and healthy looking or black and soggy rot?…. Do they spread out or go around the pot again and again?…. Do they look big enuff to support the top of the plant?… Then put it back in the pot!!…. Don’t buy a sickly looking plant unless you’re prepared to isolate it from everything else till it’s ‘better’……

Buy your plants from a neighbor hood nursery or grower…. Someone in your area…. Online shipping is nice but not all plants grown in PA can live thru summer in NC…. See?….

Start small and expand as your knowledge base expands…. Otherwise you get overwhelmed and give up too soon…. Plan your garden with expansion in mind for later…. I started with one corner of the back fence…. Now the only spot that’s NOT a part of the garden is the septic field!!….

Whatever else I’d tell you isn’t enuff unless you love gardening… While it’s fun, it’s wonderful… But when it’s no longer fun, but a job, then you have too much and should cut back…. Age and health sometimes decide when you have to do that…..

Happy gardening!!

GardenersCardiff answers:

Well… Plant flowers that ALWAYS work good… Zinnias, marigolds, Cosmos, Nasturtiums… All work fine as Beginner plants… Good luck!…

GardenersCardiff answers:

This is a good first step:

http://successfulgardening.50webs.com/

This site has hundreds of organic gardening tips

Home

I like this site because, as an organic gardener, knowing the nutritional content of compost materials is valuable information. This site offers an easy to interpret table of nutritional values.

GardenersCardiff answers:

STEP 1-PREPARE THE GARDEN FOR PLANTING
Locate vegetable gardens away from manure piles, well caps, garbage cans, septic systems and
areas where wildlife, farm animals, or the family pets roam.
Use compost safely. Compost is the natural breakdown product of leaves, stems, manures and other
organic materials-and also a source of pathogens. To be safe for gardening, your compost must
reach a temperature of at least 130°F. Check the temperature with a compost thermometer. Do not
use any animal waste, including pet waste, meat scraps or dairy product waste into your compost bin.
STEP 2- MAINTAIN THE GARDEN
Water source: Be familiar with the quality and safety of the water source(s) you use in your
garden.
If you get your water from a municipal or public water system, you can be sure that it is safe and
potable (drinkable).
Surface water (lakes, ponds, rivers and streams) can be polluted by human sewage or animal waste,
fertilizers and pesticides from lawns and farm fields, or chemicals from industry.
Ground water (which is the source for well water) is less likely to have microbial contaminants than
surface water. If a well is your water source, you need to take a little more care to be sure that it is
providing you with safe, clean water.
Conduct a standard water test at least once a year to determine if your well water meets the standards
of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Animals: Animal waste can be a source of bacteria, parasites and viruses.
During the gardening season, keep cats, dogs and other pets out of the garden.
Curtail nesting and hiding places for rats and mice by minimizing vegetation at the edges of your fruit
and vegetable garden.
Do not feed wild animals, even birds, near your garden. Fencing or noise deterrents may help
discourages other wild animals.
STEP 3-HARVEST GARDEN PRODUCE
Use clean, food-grade containers. Food-grade containers are made from materials designed
specifically to safely hold food. Garbage bags, trash cans, and any containers that originally held
chemicals such as household cleaners or pesticides are not food-grade.
Use clean gloves (that have not been used to stir compost or pull weeds) or clean hands when picking
produce.
Brush, shake or rub off any excess garden soil or debris before bringing produce into the kitchen.
STEP 4-STORE GARDEN PRODUCE
If you choose to wash fruits and vegetables before storing, be sure to dry them thoroughly with a
clean paper towel. (NEVER wash berries until you are ready to eat them.)
If you choose to store without washing, shake, rub or brush off any garden dirt with a paper towel or
soft brush while still outside. Store unwashed produce in plastic bags or containers.
Keep fruit and vegetable bins clean.
When washing produce fresh from the warm outdoors, the rinse water should not be more than 10
degrees colder than the produce. If you are washing refrigerated produce, use cold water.
Fruits and vegetables needing refrigeration can be stored at 40° F or less.
Fruits and vegetables stored at room temperature (onions, potatoes, tomatoes) should be in a cool,
dry, pest-free, well-ventilated area separate from household chemicals.
STEP 5-PREPARING AND SERVING FRESH GARDEN PRODUCE
More often than not, we eat fresh fruit and vegetables raw so we cannot rely on the heat of cooking to
destroy pathogens that might be on our lettuce or tomatoes, it is important to prepare raw produce with
food safety in mind.
Always wash your hands first.
Rinse fresh fruits and vegetables under cool, running, clean water even if you do not plan to eat the
skin or rind.
Never use soap, detergent, or bleach solution to wash fresh fruits or vegetables. These solutions can
affect flavor and may not be safe to ingest.
Avoid cross-contamination when preparing fruits and vegetables. Cross-contamination occurs when a
clean work surface such as a cutting board or utensil (paring knife) or uncontaminated food is
contaminated by dirty work surfaces, utensils, hands or food. Be sure to wash your hands (as well as
the knife and cutting surface) before preparing any ready-to-eat foods such as salad, fresh fruit or a
sandwich.
If you have leftover produce that has been cut, sliced, or cooked, store it in clean, air-tight containers
in the refrigerator at 40°F or less.

GardenersCardiff answers:

Gardening allows you to reduce the amount of money that you spend on your household food budget [assuming you are making a vegetable garden] and at the same time it helps you to calm down the daily stresses that we face at our busy city life. Before you start with your organic gardening, you gotta have some sort of knowledge of the following :
Deadheading Plants with William Moss
How to make a raised bed gardening
How to Install a Simple Garden Retaining Wall
How to Check the Sun Exposure in your Garden
Insect Repellent for Gardeners from Sloggers and Insect Shield
Plant Files: Hostas
An Eco lawn
Garden Shed
How to Build a Water Garden
How to Cement Stones Around Your Pond
Organic Fly Trap
Pond Maintenance
Garden Pests

If you are not familiar with these terms then you really need to look up and get started with these. Otherwise, you’ll face all kind of difficulties with your city garden. Good luck!

Hope that Helped !

GardenersCardiff answers:

I would probably not spray weed killer since over-spray can easily kill wanted plants along with unwanted weeds. The best method is by hand or garden tool of choice. If you miss a weed and notice it later, simply pull off any blooms, this will at least prevent weeds from spreading. The best way ( I have found) to prevent weeds from returning is using newspaper. I put down several layers (5-6 layers) over where I have weeded, and cover the newspaper with mulch. The newspaper prevents the weeds I may have missed from surviving and decays over time and helps build better soil. It is better than landscape fabric because I can easily plant in it without getting something to cut the landscape fabric with. Besides it makes a good recycle. The key for the future is preventing weeds in the first place. And don’t worry if you have a few weeds, I dare say most people who garden do, if they’ll admit it.

GardenersCardiff answers:

Cat nip is easy to grow and it makes a nice relaxing tea

GardenersCardiff answers:

I don’t know where you live, but these have proven easy for me to grow in soil that does not have much clay in it.

Tomatoes,
Okra,
Squash,
almost any Beans,
cantalope,
and onions and garlic.

Oh, and let’s not forget the main staple…potatoes.

I would start from seed right now in your window sill. Get one of those seed starter kits, and you will only need a few of each. Say two to four plants. Trust me. After the first week of April, if you are in the southern area of US, you can transplant the plants into a garden outside. Make sure they get plenty of sun. Keep garden bug spray handy and watch for the leaves turning brown or yellow.

Good luck.

GardenersCardiff answers:

First, you may want to try this for your back…(it works for me!).

Lay on your back, on a carpet or floor.

Now, bring both knees up to your chest. Hold it there for 10 seconds. (yes, you can hold them with both of your arms), then, after that, shift them to one side, and hold there for 10 seconds then shift to the other side, and hold again for 10 seconds. This will help “loosen” your back so that you dont have much pain.

(I know, it works for me and I used to take a 500 mg of vicodine a day!).

Then, you can try this..(though, it will bother you for a while, it “loosens the back muscles and straightens the spinal cord so that you can be more flexible…I hear my spine “popping” when I do this, so I know that the spine is lining up).

Sit on a chair, and keep your feet planted firmly on the ground.
Now, lift your arms to below shoulder height, (what ever your comfortable with). Now, move your upper body all the way to the left (not too far, from the start, or you may “twist” your back, and have a charlie horse in it, or pull a muscle…give it time), then, swing it all the way to the other side.

Do this about 25 times the first few times, and keep working up until you can do this for 5 minutes each day.

You will probably be sore for awhile, but, this will bring flexibility in your life and you may get away from pain pills.

If your overweight, lose it! It will help a lot in lessening the pain on the back.

Cold packs also help in stemming the pain.

I would get the “garden weasel” or other implements they sell on TV to help in your gardening needs. I dont know if they work, but, I would rather do that, then bend over.

GardenersCardiff answers:

Organic fertilizer, compost, mulch and of course, no pesticides.

When it comes to making some dirt properly for a vegetable bed, start by mixing 2 parts steer or horse manure, 1 part peat moss, 1 part sifted dirt from your yard or 1 part topsoil and 1/2 part perlite. I prefer to mix mine in a wheelbarrow, but hell, you can mix it directly in a vegetable or flower bed. Just be sure to till the soil a bit at the bottom of your bed before mixing in your prepared soil.

Also when planting either plants, flowers, vegetables, etc… Make a mixture of 1 – 2 tablespoons of fish emulsion (it comes in a 1 gallon jug) and 1 – 2 tablespoons of seaweed emulsion (it comes in a quart up to a 1 gal jug) with about a gallon or two of water in a watering can. Just water your plants or vegetables like you normally would at least once every 2 to 3 weeks. This will help to produce bigger yields and helps to promote stronger root growth.

Next when it comes to your flower beds or the bare soil around trees and somewhat later on when your vegetables begin to be more established, if it is possible, try using cedar bark as mulch. The finer the better. This helps alot with water retention in the soil, but cedar also helps as a natural pesticide that has no chemicals. And after a while the cedar bark will breakdown and become compost.

Next is composting. Dirt, organic matter, water aerating the compost regularly and watering. I prefer to compost in the ground as opposed to using a bin, or anything else. I dug two 4ft wide by 3 ft deep holes in my back yard, almost side by side. This allows me to have a constant supply of compost year in and year out. Plan on it taking anywhere from several months up to 18 months to make compost. You can add grass clippings, clean paper, apple cores, orange peels, etc… Just whatever you do, dont add anything that has come in contact with any meat products, or fish. As this will attract animals. I like to add a cheap bag of steer manure to the mix which helps with the breakdown of material….

Hit me up if you need any more advice….

GardenersCardiff answers:

Http://www.gardening.com/