If you’re thinking about starting a garden, the first thing you need to consider is what type of garden you will have. There are many different choices and often it can be hard to pick just one, but hopefully you can narrow it down. But by narrowing it down, you’ll make the gardening experience easier on yourself and the plants. If all your plants are similar, then it shouldn’t be very hard to care for them all. So here are some of the main garden ideas for you to choose from.

If you’re just looking for something to look nice in your yard, you’ll want a flower garden. These are usually filled with perennial flower. Perennial flowers are flowers which stay healthy year-round. They’re basically weeds because of their hardiness, only nice looking. Different areas and climates have different flowers which are considered perennials. If you do a quick internet search for your area, you can probably find a list of flowers that will bring your flower garden to life. These usually only require work in the planting stage - after that, the flower take care of themselves. The only downside to this is that you don’t have any product to show for it.

Another choice for your garden is to have a vegetable garden. These usually require a little more work and research than a flower garden, but can be much more rewarding. No matter what time of the year it is, you can usually find one vegetable that is still prospering. That way you can have your garden be giving you produce almost every day of the year! When starting a vegetable garden, you should build it with the thought in mind that you will be adding more types of veggies in later. This will help your expandability. Once all your current crops are out of season, you won’t be stuck with almost nowhere to put the new crops. A vegetable garden is ideal for someone who wants some produce, but doesn’t want to devote every waking hour to perfecting their garden (see below.)

One of the more difficult types of gardens to manage is a fruit garden. It’s definitely the most high-maintenance. When growing fruits, many more pests will be attracted due to the sweetness. You not only have to deal with having just the right dirt and fertilizer, you have to deal with choosing a pesticide that won’t kill whoever eats the fruits. Your fruit garden will probably not produce year-round. The soil needs to be just right for the plants to grow, and putting in another crop during its off-season could be disastrous to its growth process. If you’re willing to put lots of work into maintaining a garden, then a fruit garden could be a good choice for you.

So now that I’ve outlined some of the main garden types that people choose, I hope you can make a good decision. Basically, the garden type comes down to what kind of product you want, and how much work you want to put into it. If you’re looking for no product with no work, go with a flower garden. If you want lots of delicious product, but you are willing to spend hours in your garden each day, then go for a fruit garden. Just make sure you don’t get into something you can’t handle!

If you have a problem with birds, you have probably tried many solutions. Some of the most popular include plastic animals, scarecrows, wind chimes, or highly reflective tape. All of these things can do a great job of reducing bird problems. I have quite a few cherry trees in my backyard, and I used to struggle a lot with birds. After I applied all of these solutions, my problem went almost completely away. Unfortunately, the solution only lasted a few months.

Apparently, birds have a natural tendency to get bolder as time goes by. While at first my scarecrow scared them senseless, now I look outside and see them sitting on his shoulder. And munching on cherries from my tree. Those insolent little fiends! I’m not saying I mind birds. I love having them around my yard. But you see, I’ve already designated one tree specifically for allowing birds to eat off of. But it seems that birds can’t be content with what they’re given. They always feel the need to go over to my own trees when there is a tree just for them that doesn’t have any scary things around it.

I saw many gardening stores marketing a type of bird netting. I decided to use it. Bird netting is basically a giant net that you throw over the entire tree. The holes are about one half of an inch wide. I purchased enough of this to cover one whole tree. It was quite a hassle to install, but it definitely worked after that. I didn’t have any more problems with birds taking cherries from that tree. But one day I woke up and made my daily rounds. On that day, I found 2 birds caught in the netting that had been choked to death. I felt absolutely terrible. I buried the birds and immediately took down that netting. I didn’t want to protect my tree at the cost of the birds’ lives! Sure, I’ll kill off a few bugs, but birds are a little too nice for me.

For a while I felt too guilty to prevent the birds from eating any more. I thought that I would make it up to them by letting them feast on my cherries. I even took down my scarecrow. But a few months later I saw something in a fabric store that made me rethink my generosity. Almost every fabric store sells a material called “tulle”. It is very fine netting with holes too small for any bird to fit its beak or head into. While it is easy to find, it is also extremely cheap. Buying enough to cover one tree ended up costing less than half of what it cost for the lethal bird netting.

I installed the tulle onto my tree (I’ll admit it was a lot harder to install than the bird netting was. I had to attach several large pieces together at the seams) and watched it for a day. I wanted to keep an eye on it every second, so that if a bird got caught I could quickly help it out. Fortunately, no bird ever got caught. Tulle is a much safer and cheaper alternative to bird netting, and I suggest it if you have any problems with birds. Just remember to let them have at least one tree for themselves! Sharing with birds is an essential part of being a good gardener.

Healthy hands are the Gardener’s Best Tools

Here are the major reasons why one should consider getting a pair of trusty gardening gloves:

Gloves protect your hands from blisters, thorns and cuts while doing rough work like digging or pruning in the garden. Investing in one or more pairs of quality gloves is a good decision.

Here are some tips on how to choose the pair that will suit you best:  
1. Look for quality leather gloves with a cloth back; this will let the gloves breathe and keep your hands dry, cool and comfortable.

2. If mud bothers you, select rubber gloves with cotton lining.

3. When spraying pesticides or chemicals choose gloves that are made from neoprene. Gloves made from latex or any type of plastic may not offer the best protection.

4. When pruning roses, use gloves that reach up to the arms.

5. If you usually operate large garden machinery, buy gloves in brown instead of red as the latter may dye your hands.

6. Light cotton or even fingerless gloves may be useful for transplanting seedlings. They will allow more dexterity and so help to prevent the tiny roots from being crushed.

7. And of course, make sure that the gloves you buy actually fit your hands. If you have small hands, try the children’s gardening section. there’s nothing worse than trying to garden is gloves that are too big.

Your gloves must be comfortable as well as give protection to best serve your gardening needs.

Growing Organic Berries

Growing organic berries is a very popular choice for most organic gardeners, especially in climates with good rainfall. Berries are mostly hardy and will grow without need of pesticides or chemical fertilizers, making them a great choice for the larger organic garden.

To suit the spirit of the organic garden, choose berries that are native to your country or a similar climate, and keep as close as possible to the wild variety. Many cultivated varieties have been hybridized to produce large crops of heavy, watery fruit which means more profits for the large-scale grower but has very little of the flavor of the wild fruit. Stay away from these commercial varieties where you can.

Blackberry

Thorny wild blackberry bushes grow so well in the right climate that many people struggle to keep brambles out of their gardens. This is a very invasive plant and once introduced it is hard to control, with long trailing branches and far-spreading suckers.

The cultivated blackberry is almost thornless and non-invasive but the fruit does not have the same sharp sweet flavor.

Blueberry

Choose your variety carefully - there are many of them, and some are much more flavorsome than others. The two main strains of blueberry are Highbush (growing to about 6 ft tall) and Rabbiteye, but within each of those categories there are several different varieties. Highbush types will do better in cooler climates with regular frosts. Rabbiteye can handle hotter drier summers and heavier, less acid soil.

You can expect a small crop from the second year, steadily increasing until year five onward when the bush is mature. At that time it will start to need annual pruning.

Blueberries can also produce a wonderful display of fall colors. Take this into account when you are selecting your site.

Cranberry

The cranberry is a very nutritious, sour-tasting fruit with well-documented health benefits especially for urinary tract infections.  It needs acidic, peaty soil. Like strawberries, cranberries grow close to the ground. The fruit makes good jelly, and you can also add it to juices, smoothies and desserts.

Chilean Cranberry

Despite its name, this plant is not related to the cranberry. It grows as an evergreen shrub producing a good crop of small sweet red berries with a flavor similar to strawberries. It is hardy, surviving frost well. It could make a very productive, delicious and unusual addition to your organic garden. Planting several bushes in a row will create a decorative low hedge.

The Chilean cranberry has many different common names including uni, murta and murtilla in Chile (its native country), New Zealand cranberry or tazziberry in Australasia, and Chilean guava. Look for the botanical names Ugni molinae, Myrtus ugni and Eugenia ugni.

Currants

Black currants, red currants and white currants all grow as bushes. They are very nutritious fruit with black currants in particular containing high levels of vitamin C.

Black currant bushes are not attractive and do not respond well to pruning, but the fruit has a stronger taste. Red and white currants can be pruned, even into a shaped topiary display, although topiary could look a little out of place in an organic garden.

The long sprigs of red fruit make the red currant very attractive at harvest time. White currants are more unusual. If you have enough space, mix red and white currant bushes, or even all three. The resulting fruit will make a delicious, healthy and very attractive mixture of berries.

Gooseberry

Gooseberry bushes were once a popular feature of many gardens in England but with the increase in other sweeter imported berries they are becoming less common. They can be an acid fruit unless picked very ripe, so home-grown gooseberries that you can eat right away are much better than store-bought. They are usually green but some varieties are almost yellow when ripe. There is also a red variety.

Raspberry

Raspberries are grown on canes and require a lot of care but will pay you back well with large crops of delicious fruit. There are several varieties, each suited to a different climate, so take advice on what is best for your garden. Expect to spend time tying branches, dealing with suckers, mulching, watering and getting scratched.

Raspberries will not flourish near plants of the nightshade family (potatoes, tomatoes, eggplants or peppers) or in soil where those plants have been grown in the last couple years.

Strawberry

The wild strawberry is a tiny fruit with a strong, intensely sweet flavor that can grow well in sunny, rocky, well-drained sites, for example between the stones of a path.

Cultivated strawberries require more work but can produce a lot of fruit. For an organic garden you will probably want an old variety such as Captain Cook with medium to small sized flavorsome berries, closer to wild strawberries than the huge watery fruit that we often find in stores.

Managing Berries In Your Garden

Birds love most varieties of berries and will steal them before they ripen so if you want a good crop, you will have to cover your bushes with net while the berries are ripening. Strawberries are especially vulnerable and you may want to enclose them in a bird-proof cage.

When planting, choose your sites with care. Most berries prefer a sunny spot to ripen and develop their fullest flavor. You will want a place that is sheltered without being in constant shade. Do not plant bushes too close to a fence or hedge - you will need to be able to get all around them to harvest your growing organic berries, without being scratched to pieces!

Even in the tiniest backyard, roof garden, paved patio or even a balcony, you can create a beautiful natural space with organic container gardening. People who have a bigger yard also use containers for sensitive plants that need to be brought indoors in the winter. Container gardens are for most everybody!

Containers have the advantage that they protect the plants from many ground-based pests. Slugs who would be all over your flowers in the garden beds are much less likely to climb up into your container to reach them. Pests that attack the roots are not likely to be found in your container either, if you use organic potting soil. This is recommended because it is better aerated than garden soil and has all the nutrients that container plants need.

When using organic fertilizer and plant food on your organic container plants, be careful not to use too much. It tends to remain more concentrated in a container and it can burn the roots if overused.

Another advantage of container planting is that you can move your plants around. Young plants can be kept in sheltered spots and moved to a more exposed part of the yard when they are stronger. You may find that different parts of your garden catch the sun at different times of year, and you can rearrange your container garden accordingly.

You can also move plants around to provide a good display visible from your windows at all times of year, and to create a garden that is always well arranged with bigger plants at the back. You will not have the problem of something that you planted overshadowing everything else because it grew bigger than you expected!

You can operate a container garden on a shoestring budget. Plants will grow in anything that can contain soil and has drainage holes in the base. This can include wooden buckets and tubs that you can drill holes in, barrels, rain water tubs, and even old kitchen sinks, basins and bathtubs.

To keep your garden organic, you need to consider the material that the containers are made from. Avoid the types of plastic that may leak chemicals into the soil. Be sure that wooden containers have not been weatherproofed with non-organic treatments.

It is important to choose the right size of container for each plant. A container should be about the same width as the full-grown plant, and slightly taller than the length of its roots. You can grow most vegetables in containers and also many fruits including strawberries and tomatoes.

Plants in containers need more water than those that are planted out in the garden. This is because they cannot draw water up from deep in the ground. If you are away on vacation in summer, it is best to have someone come and water your containers every day.

Many people like to use hanging containers too. This is great if you have an overhanging outdoor porch, or if you can fix extending hooks onto your walls. Hanging baskets provide excellent drainage and the plants will get plenty of air to the roots. Summer-flowering annuals with trailing flowers are ideally suited to baskets.

If you are limited for space or want the flexibility that containers offer for your organic vegetables, fruits and flowers, organic container gardening is the perfect choice.

Any reliable seed house can be depended upon for good seeds; but even so, there is a great risk in seeds. A seed may to all appearances be all right and yet not have within it vitality enough, or power, to produce a hardy plant.

If you save seed from your own plants you are able to choose carefully. Suppose you are saving seed of aster plants. What blossoms shall you decide upon? Now it is not the blossom only which you must consider, but the entire plant. Why? Because a weak, straggly plant may produce one fine blossom. Looking at that one blossom so really beautiful you think of the numberless equally lovely plants you are going to have from the seeds. But just as likely as not the seeds will produce plants like the parent plant.

So in seed selection the entire plant is to be considered. Is it sturdy, strong, well shaped and symmetrical; does it have a goodly number of fine blossoms? These are questions to ask in seed selection.

If you should happen to have the opportunity to visit a seedsman’s garden, you will see here and there a blossom with a string tied around it. These are blossoms chosen for seed. If you look at the whole plant with care you will be able to see the points which the gardener held in mind when he did his work of selection.

 In seed selection size is another point to hold in mind. Now we know no way of telling anything about the plants from which this special collection of seeds came. So we must give our entire thought to the seeds themselves. It is quite evident that there is some choice; some are much larger than the others; some far plumper, too. By all means choose the largest and fullest seed. The reason is this: When you break open a bean and this is very evident, too, in the peanut you see what appears to be a little plant. So it is. Under just the right conditions for development this ‘little chap’ grows into the bean plant you know so well.

This little plant must depend for its early growth on the nourishment stored up in the two halves of the bean seed. For this purpose the food is stored. Beans are not full of food and goodness for you and me to eat, but for the little baby bean plant to feed upon. And so if we choose a large seed, we have chosen a greater amount of food for the plantlet. This little plantlet feeds upon this stored food until its roots are prepared to do their work. So if the seed is small and thin, the first food supply insufficient, there is a possibility of losing the little plant.

You may care to know the name of this pantry of food. It is called a cotyledon if there is but one portion, cotyledons if two. Thus we are aided in the classification of plants. A few plants that bear cones like the pines have several cotyledons. But most plants have either one or two cotyledons.

 From large seeds come the strongest plantlets. That is the reason why it is better and safer to choose the large seed. It is the same case exactly as that of weak children. 

There is often another trouble in seeds that we buy. The trouble is impurity. Seeds are sometimes mixed with other seeds so like them in appearance that it is impossible to detect the fraud. Pretty poor business, is it not? The seeds may be unclean. Bits of foreign matter in with large seed are very easy to discover. One can merely pick the seed over and make it clean. By clean is meant freedom from foreign matter. But if small seed are unclean, it is very difficult, well nigh impossible, to make them clean.

The third thing to look out for in seed is viability. We know from our testings that seeds which look to the eye to be all right may not develop at all. There are reasons. Seeds may have been picked before they were ripe or mature; they may have been frozen; and they may be too old. Seeds retain their viability or germ developing power, a given number of years and are then useless. There is a viability limit in years which differs for different seeds. 

From the test of seeds we find out the germination percentage of seeds. Now if this percentage is low, don’t waste time planting such seed unless it be small seed. Immediately you question that statement. Why does the size of the seed make a difference? This is the reason. When small seed is planted it is usually sown in drills. Most amateurs sprinkle the seed in very thickly. So a great quantity of seed is planted. And enough seed germinates and comes up from such close planting. So quantity makes up for quality.

But take the case of large seed, like corn for example. Corn is planted just so far apart and a few seeds in a place. With such a method of planting the matter of per cent, of germination is most important indeed.

Small seeds that germinate at fifty per cent. may be used but this is too low a per cent. for the large seed. Suppose we test beans. The percentage is seventy. If low-vitality seeds were planted, we could not be absolutely certain of the seventy per cent coming up. But if the seeds are lettuce go ahead with the planting.

There is nothing nicer than receiving a gift relating to one’s passion. If your loved one’s passion is gardening, then show your thoughtfulness by giving a gift that will be truly appreciated.
There are so many great gardening gifts that the only constraint is your own budget.

If your budget is small, go for things like gloves, kneepads or even a shady hat. A pretty pot (or a watering-can) filled with a small bag of potting mix, a packet of bulbs, some gloves and a small trowel or other tool will be received with delight by most gardeners. There are many hand tools at hardware stores that are reasonably priced.

If you feel that is too ordinary, how about a subscription to a gardening magazine? A tiny bit more expensive perhaps, but it will give twelve full months of delight. A book on gardening is another idea, but make sure your recipient does not already have the one you choose. Books are often heavily discounted at Christmas time, so you may get a bargain.

On the other hand, a pot that contains a flowering plant is usually a welcomed gift. Be sure to choose a plant that is suited to your climate. Sometimes plants are sent from tropical to temperate zones and kept in artificial conditions in the store. These plants will not do well once taken from their environment. Shrub roses are hardy and attractive and grow in many climates. Tulips do best in the cooler climate.

If your budget is strong, a more expensive tool may be appropriate. A pull-trolley is easier to use than a wheelbarrow and, like some electric tools, is still not terribly expensive. Small electric tools such as whipper-snippers can retail for as little as $20.00. Or if your friend has a hose but not a hose reel, then that would be a more useful gift that he would truly appreciate.

Automatic lawn mowers, electric cultivators, hedge trimmers and brush cutters are in the more expensive price range and you are the only one who can decide whether that is an appropriate gift. However, when the recipient realizes you have given a gift that complements his passion, expensive or not, it will certainly become the best gift
your friend has ever received.

More and more people are switching to organic gardening now - but exactly what is organic gardening? In this article we will look at the five vital methods that will keep your garden on the right side of the organic divide.

1. Considering The Garden As A Whole

Organic gardening takes a holistic approach, seeing the garden as one entity. Within this, different elements like soil, insects, worms, microorganisms and all of the different plants work together to create a mini ecosystem in the garden.

Everything is important, not only the fruit and vegetables. Your decorative plants, trees, lawn and even your garden furniture should be treated with a view to the environmental implications of all of the choices that you make.

2. Making The Most Of Your Garden’s Strengths

All gardens have strong points and weaker points. Consider the situation, soil type, climate, neighboring environment, sunny and shaded areas, and play on the strongest characteristics of your garden as you plan its organic development.

3. Welcoming Wildlife To The Garden

Most forms of wildlife can be seen either positively or negatively. Most people welcome birds to their gardens - until they start eating all of the delicious berries. We may not like wasps but they are predators that can be very beneficial to our gardens.

In an organic garden, all pest control will be natural. This can include:

- introducing natural predators to control your pests

- keeping seedlings and vulnerable crops protected with covers or nets

- using soapy water to wash plants that are vulnerable to aphid infestations

- selecting compatible plants that will keep pests away from neighboring plants

- removing medium sized pests like slugs and certain caterpillars whenever you see them.

If you want to kill slugs and caterpillars, drowning or squishing are the most environmentally friendly methods. You can use traps for some creatures.

4. Caring For Your Soil - Not For Your Plants

The soil is the basis of your garden. To your plants, it is both their home and their main source of food. Care for the soil well and your plants will take care of themselves.

Composting and mulching are great ways to look after your soil. Compost your kitchen waste and any other compostable matter that you have in the house. Use dead plant material too. If you are trimming trees and shrubs, cut the branches small to include them. Let your compost rot untouched for a full season.

If you have a compost tub, it should be bottomless and placed on soil so that worms and friendly bacteria can enter to process the waste and turn it into a wonderful fertilizer for your garden. When it is ready it will look like fine soil. At least once a year, you can take it out from the bottom of the tub or pile and spread it around the garden.

If you use compostable materials such as bark and fallen leaves as mulch, placed on the soil between your plants, it will both control weed growth and enrich the soil as it rots.

5. Consider The Environment In Everything That You Do

Choose organic seeds and seedlings whenever you can. Avoid genetically modified plants and over-hybridized plants that are often weaker than those based on wild varieties. Even seedless fruiting varieties are unnatural and a plant whose fruit carries no seeds may not trouble to put a lot of goodness into its fruit.

When you buy fruit and vegetables at the store, buying organic will also help to keep your garden organic. Any waste from non-organic food that is added to your compost is putting traces of chemical pesticides into your garden.

Collecting rain water saves wasting valuable drinking water and may also be better for your garden. Most water from your faucets contains chlorine, fluoride and other chemicals that are added to drinking water for sanitation reasons but are not necessarily beneficial to plants (or even humans - but that is another issue!)

Choose plants that are suited to your climate. This will save water if you live in a dry region, as well as giving you stronger and healthier plants wherever you live.

As you can see, having an organic garden is not just a question of stopping spraying your roses! Consider every aspect of what is an organic garden and you will find you have created a bower of natural beauty in your backyard.

There are many reasons why  you should incorporate landscaping stones into your landscaping design. The main one however is for beauty, pure aesthetic beauty. For a landscaping design to look perfect it needs to have layer and this can be a hard thing to achieve without the use of landscaping stones.

landscaping stones are not the only way to give your yard depth but they are the easiest way. You could try to change the slop of your yard. You could dig lower sports and build up higher ones but this could take forever and you would have to know a lot about landscaping to try to tackle a job like that. Just think of the trouble you could get into with the drainage issues if you were to make a mistake! No, it is far easier to simply use landscaping stones to bring some depth to your yard.

You can use landscaping stones to accent certain portions of your yard, you can even plant some plants in these landscaping stones. They look great round the patio and the fence and you can even get colored landscaping stones to bring more color into your yard. This kind of color is especially nice to have in winter when everything is so bare and cold looking. The fact of the matter is that you can transform the whole look of your yard with the simple use of landscaping stones. They are like jewelry only for the yard.

There are many different kinds of landscaping stones and they come in all shapes and sized. The landscaping stones that are right for you will depend on the effect that you are trying to create with your yard. And different parts of the yard might require different sized landscaping stones. You can get a wide variety of colors for your landscaping stones and in some cases you may want to mix a couple of colors together to create a whole new and interesting look.

If you are planning to overhaul your yard this year then you need to start looking into using landscaping stones in your design. These will bring the whole yard together and if they are used right will add balance and harmony to your entire garden.

You can get landscaping stones at your local gardening center and even some home building stores will carry them. Shop around and find the landscaping stones that suit your home and your needs best before you make a purchase.

As summer approaches it is wonderful to be able to relax and enjoy the garden, but there is also a lot to be done in the organic vegetable garden at this time of year.

Weeding

Late spring and early summer is the peak growing time for most plants, including weeds. Being natural wild plants they will grow strong healthy roots very quickly. Don’t let them get the upper hand or they will steal the precious water and nutrients that your growing vegetables need. Hoe twice a week for optimum weed control.

If you get to know your weeds, you may find that you can add some of them to your salad bowl instead of throwing them straight into the compost. For a few dollars you can buy a book of edible wild plants native to your state or country that will help you identify them. Perhaps you will even decide to let some of your tastiest weeds live and seed.

Sowing And Planting Out

Depending on your climate you may still be sowing carrots, cabbage and broccoli for later harvests. Plant out any remaining zucchini, pumpkins, squash and beans.

Plants that have been grown from seed indoors need to be hardened to the change of air and temperature before being planted outside, even if the weather is warm. Leave them outside in a sheltered spot, not in full sun, for a few days, bringing them in at night or any time that the temperature drops.

Thinning And Harvesting

Many plants will require thinning now to get the best crop. A lot of these are technically fruit but as we eat these non-sweet fruit in salads, they are usually considered part of the vegetable garden.

With tomatoes, pinch off the side shoots to encourage the plant to put more energy into its fruit. If your shoots are about 5 inches long or more, they can be established as separate plants. They will take about 10 days to root and of course will produce a later crop than the main plant. Remove their first flowers to have them grow big enough to provide good fruit.

If you are growing cucumbers, harvest them regularly to encourage more to be produced. Pick lettuce before it becomes too old and replace your first lettuces with new sown seeds.

Pest Control And Wildlife

This is a great time to encourage natural predators to settle in your garden and control your pests.

- If you have problems with aphids, purchase a ladybug nest and feeder.

- The beetles that feed on slugs flourish on undug, well mulched ground that gives them plenty of protective cover. So control weeds with mulch instead of the hoe if you have a slug problem.

- Encourage bees and wasps by growing flowers with large, colorful open blooms or smaller, bell-shaped flowers alongside your vegetables. Wasps also love to have a pile of undisturbed dead wood for nest building. By providing this for them in a place that you choose, you can prevent them from nesting around the house, tool stores, children’s play areas and other areas of your organic vegetable garden.