Your Backyard Garden

Garden Beds and Borders

TRANSPLANTING

Several weeks after Thinning comes Transplant time, yet another intermediate stage in the growing-up process—like junior high school.

I dread this job. It involves carefully lifting each little bitty plant by a leaf (never by the stem!) and disentangling it from its fellows without damaging or breaking any of those translucent stems or losing any hairlike roots—never have one’s hands seemed so big and clumsy—then gently (but firmly, always firmly) tucking it into a new pot, where it can grow solo until it’s time for the next traumatic separation. (Unless you’ve killed it, which is always a strong possibility.)

It is a thoroughly unnerving experience. Once done, both plant and planter need a good drink, but the planter must repeat the procedure with each one of the perhaps hundreds of little seedlings in the flat.

Not all the annuals one raises from seed need to go through this step. Many—lettuce, melons, most flowers—can go on growing in the pots or flats they germinated in, until they’re ready to move. (more…)

INFANCY

Usually, seeds do come up (or why else bother with them?), and it is a thrilling sight indeed to see those frail little green stems, bravely wearing their starter foliage.

These newborn plants, like babies everywhere, have a host of demands that must be met, or else.

Right away they need light, and lots of it. Your sunniest window is barely bright enough; fluorescent lights may be a better choice. Of course, you’ll have to find some way of keeping the trays at the right distance from the lights: close but not actually touching.

They need water—just the right amount. Those shallow fiats and potlets usually dry out so quickly that daily watering is essential. (Don’t plan a vacation this month.) (more…)

TIMING

You can’t just start planting your seeds at any old time; there are Rules.

Petunias, for example, should be started “6-10 weeks before last frost” (Burpee). So how do you estimate a ‘last frost”?

Even if you remembered the date of last year’s last frost. you’d still be in the dark about this year’s. So you decide on an arbitrary date—May 15 in my zone—and count back. Six to ten weeks allows me lots of leeway, possibly too much; from April 2 to March 5. (more…)

Taking care of your lawn questions and answers

Q. How effective is underground watering?

A. I have seen several systems, and I wouldn’t give you a dime for them. The roots usually end up plugging up the system, or the soil remains soggy.

Q. How efficient are automatic feeding systems?A. Not very. These pieces of equipment are designed for the use of professionals, not that of homeowners.A. Not very. These pieces of equipment are designed for the use of professionals, not that of homeowners.Q. I’ve heard that riding lawn mowers are bad for lawns.

A. Not very. These pieces of equipment are designed for the use of professionals, not that of homeowners.A. The only person who would say this would be someone who couldn’t afford a rider. However, any mower must have a sharp blade.

Q. How effective and practical would it be to lay drain tile in a lawn area?

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Creating a Green Carpet Lawn

Q. How effective is underground watering?

A. I have seen several systems, and I wouldn’t give you a dime for them. The roots usually end up plugging up the system, or the soil remains soggy.

Q. How efficient are automatic feeding systems?

A. Not very. These pieces of equipment are designed for the use of professionals, not that of homeowners.A. The only person who would say this would be someone who couldn’t afford a rider. However, any mower must have a sharp blade.A. Not very. These pieces of equipment are designed for the use of professionals, not that of homeowners.A. The only person who would say this would be someone who couldn’t afford a rider. However, any mower must have a sharp blade.

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Bonsai Trees : Recommended by Your Backyard Garden

By now I realized that bonsai could be bigger than nine inches, so I decided to try something a little larger. I took a couple of dozen hardwood cuttings from local hedgerows. These are easy to root in open ground over winter, and the suc¬cess rate is around 80%. One cutting in particular seemed to be more ready to throw out lateral growth than the others, so I chose it for my next serious effort at a broom(ish) style. This time I decided to follow advice and let the cutting grow on in the ground for a few years to thicken the trunk and to train the main branches while in the ground.

1987—getting there.
There’s an awkward kink in the trunk where a new leader was wired in, and the inter-branch spacing is less than ideal. Fortunately, the latter problem was easily solved a couple of years later by simply removing the lower right branch.

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MICRO-GARDENING

There are two kinds of gardeners: those who start their annuals from seed indoors in February or March, nursing them along until outdoor-planting time; and those who are content to buy seedlings at a garden center in May. For the longest time I, very sensibly, counted myself among the latter.

Oh, I may have made a stab at seed-starting once or twice. I may have bought a few packages of flower seed at the hardware store, seduced by the gaudy pictures on the front of the packet, but then I would get no further; not after reading the instructions on the back, to discover that I’d have to coddle these embryonic plants for months and months before seeing any of those pretty flowers. (Somehow one never reads the small print until one gets home.)

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Greenhouses
What supplies do you need for a home greenhouse? We all learned in kindergarten that greenhouses are plants in an outdoor glass structure that is used for capturing light. What they didn’t teach you in kindergarten is how great they are for a small business or for family vegetables.

Greenhouses generally are layers of glass or plastic creating a heating and cooling system used year round. There are also solar greenhouses which are used to cut down costs for small producers. This type of greenhouse is designed to absorb and retain solar radiation.

The top vegetables and herbs grown in greenhouses are tomatoes, lettuce, peppers, English cucumbers, basil, sage, and rosemary. It is best to decide which vegetables you want to grow before you begin. Then you should look for the right design that is best suited for your choice in vegetables.

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Lawns and other garden FAQs.

Q. What can I do about the damage the neighborhood dogs do to my lawn?

A. Dog damage or urine burn can be repaired by applying a handful of gypsum to the affected area after scratching up the soil, then reseeding. To prevent this damage, apply gypsum in early spring at a rate of fifty pounds over one thousand square yards where the animals run. You can also add a yeast tablet to your pet’s diet once a month.

Q. What can I do to prevent the lawn damage caused by the salt that the city puts on pavements in the winter?

A. To prevent salt damage, apply a five-foot-wide band of gypsum around all affected walks and drives. This will preserve the lawn against melting rock salt.

Q. My lawn has some soggy spots caused by winter damage. What can I do? (more…)

Garden Basics : Garden Sites and Exposures : Weather and Climate

GENERAL GARDENING TIPS

Here are a list of helpful, general gardening tips and ideas for the novice to the experienced backyard gardener:

Easiest vegetables to grow: Carrots, radishes, onions, pumpkin squash, garlic, beetroot, lettuce.

What’s your garden’s color? The color of what you plant often reveals your personality traits. If you plant a lot of red colors this means that you are assertive Green means you are a relaxed person, etc.

Plants, like humans, need tender loving care. Talk to them, when nobody’s around. Play soft mood music. It’s good for their health and yours.

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