Make Your Own Pop Bottle Drip Irrigation System | You Grow Girl The last time I forgot to water my outdoor potted plants and discovered them completely wilted and hanging on the cusp of near death, I decided it was time to take action. Some of the plants on my deck receive a full, searing sun all day long during the hottest mid summer days. While these plants thrive under such conditions if properly taken care of, they will die quickly if they don’t receive enough water. Although it has been unusually rainy this year in these parts, full sun deck plants will still get extremely hot and dry very quickly. One of the best ways to provide a steady water supply to your plants without your constant attention is the gradual watering system or drip irrigation. Through this method a device is employed that slowly delivers water into the soil directly around the roots. The materials you will need are as follows: 2 litre plastic soda bottle or water bottle that still has the lidDrill and small drill bitSharp knifeCutting surface
Potting Benches Like a fantastic hybrid of some very useful furniture pieces from the sideboard to the baker's rack to the kitchen island, the potting bench is built for function. Think of it as an extra helper in the backyard. When the time comes to pot new flowers, or prune your bonsai trees, a potting bench makes the job more comfortable. Wide work surfaces are brought to your level so you can forget about having to squat in the dirt. Shelves keep pots handy, hooks hold your tools, and shelves keep potting soil in easy reach. Potting Bench Parties But the really cool thing about the potting bench is what it can do after sunset. Brunch, Lunch, and More Your potting bench can be used for daytime entertaining, too. How Entertaining So what other ways are there to use a potting bench? And Don't Forget … This bench is made for potting.
Companion Planting - Vegetable Gardening Plant Companions and Combining Home > Companion gardening Companion planting and combining means growing plants together that like or benefit each other. Vegetable companion gardening can have a real impact on the health and yield of your plants. In nature everything interacts to create a whole life force. This is a basic understanding... that everything organic and living has a mutual influence on every other living thing. Every plant has an effect on every other plant and every creature has an effect on every other creature. Over time, gardeners have observed these interrelationships, and scientists have studied them. It’s well worth while reading a little bit about how and why companion planting is so important before we get into which specific plants go with what. . . . Plants, unlike many people, are not timid. Nature's Way of Companion Planting The companion effect happens naturally in the wild. Just like us, life's too short for putting up with bad conditions... so aim for the good life for your plants too! Uh oh...
Grow Your Own Super Fruit: The Pomegranate By Mindy McIntosh-Shetter This year I have made a commitment to be more hyper-local in my food choices. I have decided not to eat anything out of season that I have not canned or frozen and I will not eat anything exotic that I have not grown myself. But when I made this personal commitment I did not think about one of my favorite fruits and that is the pomegranate. Pomegranates are not that difficult to grow and actual do well indoors since they are self-pollinating. They can even tolerate a few nights of below 32 F degrees but it is always a good idea to move indoor when the temperatures dip into the low 40s F degrees. To start pomegranates from seed requires a little work and patience. Once the seeds have dried out plant two to three of them in a 5-inch pot that is filled with an all-purpose soil and cover with ¼-inch of soil mixture. Once the sprouts appear, remove from the plastic bag and place in a brightly lit area. To keep the pomegranate at a workable size, prune in the winter.
Fork & Bottle: Seed Sources - Organic, Biodynamic, Heirloom & Heritage Seed Sources Native Seeds/SEARCH The NS/S Seedbank houses (for future generations) the seeds of crops and wild plants traditionally used as food, fiber and dyes by prehistoric and more recent cultures inhabiting the arid southwestern U.S. and northwestern Mexico. More than 2,000 different seeds are offered, representing traditional crops grown by Apache, Chemehuevi, Cocopah, Gila River Pima, Guarijio, Havasupai, Hopi, Maricopa, Mayo, Mojave, Mountain Pima, Navajo, Paiute, Puebloan, Tarahumara, Tohono O'odham and Yaqui farmers. More than a half of the offerings are corn, bean, and squash (aka the three sisters). They also have some seed assortments and they offer products other than seeds (on their website), such as dried beans, posole, salsas, chiles, etc. Turtle Tree Biodynamic Seeds The first Demeter-certified biodynamic seed source I've found. Territorial Seed Company I'm a fan of theirs. Roguelands Seeds/Anioleka Seed Company UK-based with an Oregon branch. Biodynamic Seed Resources
Companion Planting Charts: Complete List Companion planting charts are called "voodoo"' by some and "essential" by others. Regardless of which side you're on, there are two undeniable facts supporting them: (1) symbiotic relationships exist for all life forms, including plants and (2) if nothing else, practicing companion planting won't hurt your garden... Symbiotic Relationships in Nature Support the Use of Companion Planting Charts Symbiotic relationships occur when separate life forms interact with each other and either one or both species benefit in some way. Sometimes the relationship helps both parties (mutualism), sometimes it helps one and hurts the other (parasitism) and sometimes it helps one and the other is unaffected (commensalism). Symbiosis occurs for virtually every living thing at one time or another. Oxpeckers ride the back of rhinos and eat parasites (mutualism) Mosquitoes suck the blood of mammals (parasitism) Clownfish hide among sea anemones for protection (commensalism) And on a less scientific level...
How to Turn a Pallet into a Garden Good news and bad news. I had planned to film a short video showing you how to make a pallet garden, but the weather didn’t cooperate. I was stapling the landscape fabric onto the pallet when it started drizzling and got really windy. So keep reading my pallet loving friends, instructions on how to make your own pallet garden are just a few lines away… Find a Pallet The first thing you need to do is–obviously–find a pallet. Don’t just take the first pallet you find. Collect Your Supplies For this project, you’ll need the pallet you found, 2 large bags of potting soil, 16 six packs of annual flowers (one six pack per opening on the face of the pallet, and two six packs per opening on the top of the completed pallet garden), a small roll of landscape fabric, a staple gun, staples, and sand paper. Get Your Pallet into Shape Once you’ve dragged your pallet home, give it a once over. Let the Stapling Begin! Lay the pallet face down. Now for the sides. Now for the Fun Part–Planting!
Flower World Companion Planting For Top 10 Veggies Grown in US - Farmers' Almanac Pin It! Companion planting is a great way to maximize the efficiency of your garden. For almost every vegetable you grow, there is likely to be a beneficial companion plant that will help increase soil nutrients, chase away pests, or provide some other benefit. To get the most out of your hard work, we’ve provided the 10 most popular vegetables grown in the United States and their friends (and enemies) in the garden. Companion Planting For These Top 10 Veggies: 1. Basil and tomatoes were made to go together, not only in sauces but in the garden, too. 2. Basil is a good friend to peppers, helping repel aphids, spider mites, mosquitoes, and flies. 3. Corn and beans grow well together because beans will grow up the cornstalks, which means you won’t have to build them a trellis. 4. To repel aphids and beetles, plant marigolds and nasturtiums among your cucumbers. 5. Carrots should be planted near onions because onions will repel the carrot fly. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
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