Aster Flower. Asclepias syriaca Common Milkweed PFAF Plant Database. Adhesive; Fibre; Gum; Latex; Oil; Oil; Pollution; Stuffing; Wick. A good quality fibre is obtained from the inner bark of the stems. It is long and quite strong, but brittle[269]. It can be used in making twine, cloth, paper etc[95, 112, 169]. The fibre is of poor quality in wet seasons[112]. It is easily harvested in late autumn after the plant has died down by simply pulling the fibres off the dried stems[169]. It is estimated that yields of 1,356 kilos per hectare could be obtained from wild plants[269]. The seed floss is used to stuff pillows etc or is mixed with other fibres to make cloth[112, 159, 169, 171]. The Milkweeds (Asclepias species) The Milkweeds Every so often in our researches we come across a plant with so many uses that we wonder why it has never been commercially exploited. One such group of plant - all of them ideal for the Permaculturalist - is the Milkweeds (Asclepias species) from North America.
The genus Asclepias contains over a hundred species of mainly perennial herbs growing in temperate and topical regions. We will look at four of these species:- All the above are fairly easy to grow preferring a rich light or peaty soil and a sunny position. A. icarnata is probably the easiest to grow and is the most adaptable to different soil types.
They all succeed in most areas of Britain. Virtually all parts of these plants are edible when cooked though there are reports that large quantities can cause stomach upsets. Young flower buds have a delicious pea-like flavour as do the very young seed pods (before the seed floss is produced). Mature seed pods contain quite large quantities of floss. Database. Make your landscaping butterfly-friendly. There is something magical about butterflies as they flit from flower to flower in the garden. These winged beauties are not only stunning to watch but they also serve an important role as pollinators, spreading pollen from flower to flower, leading to fertilization and ultimately seed production. The activities of butterflies and other pollinators, like hummingbirds and bees, help to ensure that various plant species multiply and persist.
By growing certain combinations of plants and providing the right setting, you can attract butterflies and other welcome pollinators to your garden. Here are some tips for attracting butterflies. 1. Certain butterflies will only lay their eggs on specific plants. Find out what types of butterflies are in your area. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Below is a partial list of both host and nectar plants to attract and feed butterflies. Herbs Fennel – Both the green and bronze are hosts for Black Swallowtails.
Parsley – A host for Black Swallowtails. Basil – Provides nectar. Grow plants from your groceries, like ginger root and pineapple! 4 Simple Steps to Grow a Hundred Pounds of Potatoes in a Barrel. Container gardening isn't only for savvy urban gardeners and folks with limited space to grow, it can also be for folks who want to maximize their yields in a controlled environment. Not only does growing potatoes in a barrel reduce the amount of weeding and exposure to pests and fungi, you don't even have to risk shovel-damage to the tender potatoes by digging them out of the ground when they're done, just tip the container over!
After extensive research to plan my own potatoes-in-a-barrel, I've boiled all of the recommendations down to 4 simple steps to a winning potato harvest. 1. Select and prepare a container You'll need to pick out a container such as a 50-gallon trash barrel or one of those half whiskey barrel planters. Alternatively, you can buy used food-grade barrels or commercially-available potato planters. 2. Seed potatoes can usually be found at nurseries early in the growing season, but you should only have to buy them once. 3. 4.
More gardening tips. Why I Use Epsom Salt in the Garden. *Why I Use Epsom Salt in the Garden*By: LL4e14 June 2004 I wanted to show everyone what a difference it makes with and without with only water being added all of these plants was planted on the same day and time. I am showing you ones I am growing with the sq. ft. method. All of these photo's were just taken today. I do have several baby tomatoes now. However now the non Epsom salt plants will be fed it also this was only to show those what a difference it makes. I'd highly suggest putting some away it has many other uses for a survival and daily living. In the Garden House Plants Mix one teaspoon per gallon of water and feed to the plants every two to four weeks. Garden startup Sprinkle approximately one cup per 100 square feet. (10’x10’) and mix into soil before planting.
Tomatoes Apply one tablespoon per foot of height for each plant every two weeks. Roses Apply one teaspoon per foot of height for each plant every two weeks. Q: Why is Epsom Salt good for plants? How to Grow Crimson Clover as a Cover Crop. How to Safely and Legally Capture the Rain - Installing Rain Barrels. Susan Kroll wasn't squeamish about installing a rain barrel. Having lived in Thailand, where huge, impressive rain jars abound as part of an ancient tradition of capturing water from the sky, she hardly worried about turning her home into a scene out of Dogpatch, adorned with an old oak barrel rotting amid algae and mosquitoes.
After moving to the Pacific Northwest, she grabbed the chance to install a new 55-gallon plastic cistern in the home she rented, finding rain harvesting no less appealing in the temperate-forest "drizzle capital" of Bellingham, Wash., than in the tropical forests of Thailand. "We get so much water naturally here in the winter, suffering through droughts in the summer, that it just makes sense to try to save from one season to help the other," Kroll says. That first barrel multiplied to seven after she and her husband, Sergio Moreno, moved into their own house. Like many municipalities, Bellingham encourages rainwater harvesting. Know When to Plant What: Find Your Average First Fall Frost Date. To determine your optimum dates for sowing fall crops, add three weeks to the days to maturity ratings listed below or shown on your seed packs to compensate for days that are getting shorter. Then count back from your average first fall frost date to find the date you should sow each crop.
(To find your average first fall frost date, search by state in the tables provided by the National Climatic Data Center.) Cool-season plants will continue to grow a little after nights turn chilly, but they will make most of their new growth early on, while the weather is still warm. Many of the best crops of fall — including salad greens and various cabbage cousins — will refuse to germinate in soil warmer than 85 degrees, so the seeds are best started indoors (on a 90-degree day, surface soil temperatures may actually be 110 degrees or more).
Days to Maturity. The No-Spray Way to Protect Plants. In many organic gardeners’ storage sheds lurk what look like stashes of dirty bed linens. These are actually sheets of reusable fabric row covers, which serve as barriers between plants and those creatures that would destroy them. Without ever picking up a sprayer, you can use row covers to eliminate problem insects, and prevent browsing by rabbits and deer, too. When combined with a weed-suppressing mulch (such as straw or grass clippings spread over wet newspapers), row covers often increase yields of peppers, strawberries and cucumber-family crops by more than a third. Unlike plastic, which blocks rain and quickly heats up in the sun, the zillions of tiny holes in fabric row covers let rain in and heat out. Perforated plastic row covers do vent out hot air through thousands of holes or slits, but they are much less durable than breathable fabric row covers, which can be reused for several years and serve multiple purposes.
Lessons In Light Getting a Custom Fit Tailoring Tips. Pruning And Maintenance Of Hibiscus. Left unpruned, all hibiscus soon become shapeless and messy, and their flowers fewer, smaller and duller. Most hibiscus are evergreen. Apart from a cluster of species classified as herbaceous, which includes smaller annual or biennial sub-shrubs found growing in the wild, the only two fully deciduous species in cultivation are H. syriacus and H. mutabilis. These two hardy shrubs require heavy pruning to perform well, for like their tropical relations, they flower on new wood. Prune these two species only in winter, when the branches are bare. Other hibiscus should never be pruned in winter. Early spring - at the start of the growing season - is the time to prune your tropical hibiscus. It is likely that along with the new foliage growth, you'll also be sacrificing flower buds.
By cutting back previous years' hardwood to reduce size, and by removing unwanted stems to induce vigor and shape, the result is likely to be a bush about two-thirds the pre-trimmed size. Pruning Hydrangeas. A PRUNING STORY: Gail, from Trussville, Alabama, has a beautiful blue hydrangea (actually she has several). The picture on the left, above, shows this hydrangea in early summer, at the height of its glory. As the summer progressed, it became increasingly loose, and the blooms were easily brought down in inclement weather. Gail thought her hydrangea would be much more compact and attractive if it could be pruned. Unfortunately, it was still covered in bloom. If she waited until fall or winter to prune it, the hydrangea probably wouldn't bloom the following year at all. So, after we'd discussed the situation by email, Gail decided to prune it right then and there, since some of the bloom was starting to fade.
THE REST OF THE STORY: The summer after the pruning, this hydrangea was covered in bloom . 5 Easy to Grow Mosquito-Repelling Plants. As the outdoor season approaches, many homeowners and outdoor enthusiasts look for ways to control mosquitoes. With all the publicity about the West Nile virus, mosquito repelling products are gaining in popularity. But many commercial insect repellents contain from 5% to 25% DEET.
There are concerns about the potential toxic effects of DEET, especially when used by children. Children who absorb high amounts of DEET through insect repellents have developed seizures, slurred speech, hypotension and bradycardia. There are new DEET-free mosquito repellents on the market today which offer some relief to those venturing outdoors in mosquito season. Here are five of the most effective mosquito repelling plants which are easy to grow in most regions of the US: 1. Citronella is the most common natural ingredient used in formulating mosquito repellents. Citronella is a perennial ‘clumping’ grass which grows to a height of 5 – 6 feet. 2. Horsemint leaves can be dried and used to make herbal tea. Www.wvu.edu/~agexten/hortcult/fruits/RejuvenatinganOldAppleTree.pdf. How To Prune An Apple Tree. 3. Pruning Young Trees For mature or neglected apple trees, skip to number 4 The day apple trees are planted is the day to begin to train and prune them for future fruit production.
Too often people plant apple trees and leave them untended for several years. This neglect results in poor growth, delayed and under-sized fruiting. The following pruning styles are if you have recently purchased, or own a young tree, and need to determine its shape as a mature tree. A new apple tree will usually be either a 3 to 4 foot (.91-1.2 m) whip (it has no branches), or a 4 to 6 foot (1.2-1.8 m) tall young tree with several branches.
Central Leader Training to a central leader produces a tree that has a pyramid shape. If your newly planted tree is a whip (it has no branches and looks like a long stick) cut the trunk at a height of about 32 inches (81 cm). For a new tree that already has side branches, cut back the trunk to 32 inches (81 cm). First Summer: Make sure the top shoot becomes the leader. Small Footprint, Big Yield: Create an Easy Micro Organic Urban Garden Today! April 28, 2009 by Robin Plaskoff Horton There are two things urban gardeners are short on: space and time. The Urban Garden, brainchild of Bill Arquitt, resolves both of these issues, making it efficient and simple to plant a vegetable garden with up to 55 plants in a 3-foot deep by 4-foot wide footprint.
The contained six level tiered system is nearly maintenance-free, eliminating heavy weeding, and its northwestern cedar construction renders it naturally bug repellent.
Greenhouse. Seeds. Compost. Info Sites. Succulents. Rain Garden. Planters. Organic. Raised Beds. Herb Garden.