Home Garden

Have you always wanted to have your own garden, and yet because you live inside a condo, you’ve never really got around to doing it? Well, don’t lose hope – it’s never too late to get started with indoor gardening. You can choose some plants that live well inside and which you can put in small pots and just place these in your porch or by your window sill. You can get the satisfaction of seeing your garden grow right inside your home, and if you decide to plant herbs and spices, you can even get the pleasure of eating your own produce!

Planting Herbs Indoors

Herbs and spices have been around for centuries. In fact, history even says that some countries were conquered because they have the best spices which were considered high valued commodities in the past. Herbs are loved for the distinct taste and aroma that they contribute to ordinary dishes. Other than being used for cooking, herbs are also known for their medicinal properties and the health benefits that they give the body. Sometimes they are also used for fragrance and beauty skin care products. What’s great about herbs is they can be grown indoors and are not really that difficult to raise.

You can start your herb indoor gardening by planting oregano, thyme, basil and parsley. If you have just these four herbs, you can already have a kitchen full of possibilities, because of the flexibility of these herbs as culinary taste enhancers. Tarragon is another good herb that you can plant and use as a spice or as tea. It is known for its unique taste and its relaxing effect on the body.

You can plant these herbs in small pots, or if you do have a yard outside, you can make a bed of soil and plant your herbs there. If you don’t have the luxury of space, just use small pots and hang or place these by your window so that you can easily reach out for them whenever you need them for your dishes.

If you please, you can buy decorative pots, plant herbs in them and scatter these around your house. Make sure there is enough drainage for the water to come out and that your plants are still exposed to the right amount of sunlight, even when they are indoors ost of the tie. Choose brightly colored pots that can also enhance the look of your living room or dining area.

Indoor gardening can be quite relaxing, and the benefits that you gain out of it are abundant. Read on plants other than your usual herbs and spices, that may grow well indoors and start appreciating a taste of nature inside your home.

Stinging nettle loves abandoned properties and can be readily found where the people have moved on and let the plants have a free rein.

Stinging nettle may be found in Europe, Asia, N Africa and N America.

This is a wild crafters plant. A few sensible precautions can reduce your odds of getting stung. One wear long sleeves, long pants and gloves, the garden variety are fine. This actually makes sense no matter what plants you are collecting on abandoned lots, fields or in the forest.

The long sleeves and pant legs will protect you from a variety of plants and small wildlife, like ticks.

Two, use a good sharp pair of scissors to make a quick and clean cut and be sure to hold the plant by the leaf and in the middle, the video gives a good demonstration of how to harvest.

The nettle is vibrant green in colour and it is said that this indicates that the plant has a high iron and chlorophyll content. Stinging nettle is also reputed to be a very good source of the minerals calcium, magnesium, silicon, sulphur, copper, chromium, zinc, cobalt, potassium and phosphorus as well as containing high amounts of vitamins A, C, D, E, and K as well as riboflavin and thiamine.

The nettle fiber has been in clothing instead of cotton and flax, In Europe, the plant was gathered while young approximately a foot in height. It was then used as a vegetable not all that different from spinach, another under appreciated food source. In fact, if you find the taste of spinach to strong, you may prefer the milder tatse of nettle.

Apparently, nettle was used to treat scurvy and as a spring tonic. It ahs also been used as animal fodder as when the plant is cut and left to dry, it loses its bite.

Historically, the Germans have used nettle this way, as fodder for horses and have fed nettles to chickens with an increase in egg production.

Another traditional use of this versatile plant was to keep flies out of the larder which was accomplished by hanging a bunch of fresh nettles there.

It is claimed that the entire plant, that is the stems, leaves, flowers and roots possess strong medicinal properties. Nettle tea Stinging nettle tea is simple to make and there are two basic ways to do so:

One- pour boiling water over fresh (or dried) nettles. Steep, strain, enjoy.

Two- bring water and nettles to a boil. Simmer for a couple of minutes. Remove from heat. Strain, enjoy.

A friend and I used to go nettle gathering in Northern Ontario a few years back. We did not have to travel far. Our first stop was her backyard where we had transplanted a few stinging nettle plants about two years previously; this was always the early harvest for the young leaves.

A week or two later we would hit a couple of spots around town with a few block radius of her palce and collect all we needed.

If you are wild crafting nettle or any other plant from an unknown property you are taking a chance that the soil in which it was grown was contaminated in years previous and by now the toxins have been sucked up by the plant.

This was the main reason we moved some nettles from one site we knew was safe but far away to her backyard.

The urban environment does have much food to offer those who know what they are looking for but never forget that those same environments may be the home to a wide range of substances that you do not want in your body.

The knowledgeable wild crafter finds out before gathering.

Measuring and controlling soil moisture is critical to growing and maintaining healthy plants. To a novice, many of the terms regarding soil moisture can be confusing. In this primer we attempt to define and relate the various technical terms related to soil moisture, and to describe state of the art soil moisture sensors.

The best way to think of soil is to use the analogy of a sponge. When you dip a dry sponge into water it will absorb water slowly until it is completely saturated. When you pull it out of the water, water will gush out quickly, because of the effect of gravity, and after a few minutes the water will drip out of it at an increasingly slower rate until it stops dripping. The point at which the sponge is full of water, yet gravity can no longer pull water out of it is analogous to the measurement we call field capacity. When the soil has been saturated, and any excess water has been removed by gravity, the soil is at field capacity. This is also referred to water holding capacity (WHC).

Now suppose you take a vacuum cleaner and place its hose on the sponge. If powerful enough, the suction of the vacuum cleaner will pull water out of the sponge, until most of the water is removed. Note that regardless of how strong the vacuum is, a little bit of water will remain in the sponge, and it will appear moist. To drive out all of the water from the sponge, you would have to heat it. We compare this to soil where the vacuum represents the roots of a plant. The roots suck water out of the soil with a pressure determined by capillary action. The plant will be able to suck excess water out of the soil until the capillary pressure can no longer overcome the soil’s tension to retain the water. This point at which a plant’s root can no longer extract water is called the “willing point”, which as you can imagine is a critical parameter.

One more important term is the “plant available water”. This is the available amount of water in soil that can actually be used by the plant. Just because soil may have water in it doesn’t mean that the plant has enough “suck” to pull it out. So the definition of plant available water is the holding capacity minus the wilting point. Good soils have large plant available water, meaning they have high holding capacity, and low wilting points, so that water is available, and easy for the plant to extract.

As soil varies in composition, so do these parameters. Soil types are defined by their particle size. Sand is coarse – of course, and clay is made up of very fine particles, while silt is a medium particle size. Because clay soil has very fine particles it tends to hold moisture well, but it also holds on to it so the wiling point of clay is quite high, making it difficult for plants to extract the moisture. Sandy soil is very porous and so water flows out easily, and a result it has low holding capacity. The perfect soil has high holding capacity, and a low wilting point. To achieve this perfect soil, soils of different particle size are mixed together with organic matter such as humus.

Now that we have discussed how soil holds water, we can discuss how to measure soil moisture. Since the purpose of measuring soil moisture is to know if plants are getting enough water, we would want to measure the water that is available to their roots. Ideally we would measure the water with an “artificial” root. One very accurate method of doing this is with a tensiometer, which measures the water as a function of pressure. Since it measures pressure or tension its units are also in terms of pressure. The tensiometer doesn’t tell you what the absolute moisture content of the soil is, but hearkening back to our soil moisture analogy, tells you how much pressure it takes to suck water out of the soil.

Many technical articles describe results from tensiometers and give units in pressure such as bars, etc. Now if you happen to know what sort of soil the tensiometer is measuring, then you can compute the absolute soil moisture or at least get an estimate of it. A clay soil may have high moisture content, and at the same time have a high pressure, rendering the moisture useless to the plant. While tensiometers are accurate, and provide useful information they are delicate and expensive scientific instruments that require specialized knowledge to operate and interpret. They are also slow in the sense that they have to come into equilibrium with the surrounding soil before a measurement can be made, so they are not ideal for use in making quick measurements.

Another similar approach to the tensiometer is the gypsum block. This is essentially 2 stainless steel electrodes that are encased in plaster. As moisture absorbs into the gypsum resistivity decreases. The gypsum serves as a salt barrier. Many cheap soil moisture sensors consist of two stainless steel rods that insert into the soil. This approach is highly inaccurate due to salts in the soil which can wildly change the resistance of the soil, and thus give inaccurate readings of moisture content.

The gypsum block sensor partially overcomes salinity issues with the gypsum barrier. The main disadvantages with gypsum blocks is that they are typically slow and bulky. After a block is placed in the soil, there is a lag before the gypsum comes to the same moisture level as the surrounding soil. Because they are large and obtrusive they can’t be used in potted plants. The output of a gypsum block is an electrical resistance, this is in turn related to moisture in the units of pressure with the use of look up tables.

Modern soil moisture sensors use electronics to measure the dielectric constant of the surrounding material which happens to be related to moisture content. These sensors are also known as capacitive soil moisture sensors, or TDR soil moisture sensors. These sensors are small and unobtrusive so they can be used with potted plants, provide instant readings, are simple to use, are very affordable, and many are low power. Because of their low cost and low power requirements, these sorts of sensors are being massively deployed in irrigation systems in wireless mesh networks such as Zig bee networks.

These sorts of electronic probes measure the soil moisture in absolute terms, namely the volume of water to the volume of soil, also know as VWC. Another related soil moisture measurement unit is GWC or gravimetric water content, which is defined as the mass of water, to the mass of soil. VWC and GWC are related by the bulk density of the soil, so if you know the density of the soil you can convert from one to the other. VWC is more commonly used. VWC is also related to pressure, to convert from one to the other the type of soil must be known. As was mentioned, a clay soil may have a high VWC, but a plant may have a hard time extracting water from it.

Accurate measurement and interpretation of soil moisture data, can allow individuals or computerized systems make decisions about water usage, saving valuable water resources, and promoting healthy plants.

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Increasing the vase life of your cut flowers

General rule
Cut in the early morning
Change the water everyday
Use lukewarm water
Remove all leaves and thorns from stems that are under the waterline
Add sugar and bleach

The following guidelines apply to most cut flowers regardless of the species. It is worth noting though that some just last naturally longer than others.

When Harvesting
1. Always cut your flowers early in the morning when the sugar (glucose) content of blossoms is the highest – dew still on the foliage will tell you if it is the right time.
2. Have a bucket of lukewarm water with you and immediately place the flowers in it after cutting.
3. Use sharp secaturs or cutters. Cut at an angle as this allows better uptake of the water
4. If time permits remove all the leaves that will be submerged in the water – you will have to do this anyway, so straight off is better.

If you are buying cut flowers – try to choose the ones that are in bud form rather than open

When Preparing For The Vase
1. Use lukewarm water as flowers take up warm water more readily than cold.

2. Remove all leaves and thorns (if possible) from the stems that will be submerged

3. If practical it is ideal to do all this in a large sink (e.g. the laundry sink) and cut or remove from the stems while they are under the water… reducing exposure to the air.

4. Re-cut off another half inch or so when you are getting ready to place them in the vase.

5. Flowers with woody stems like hydrangeas (and possibly roses) benefit from crushing the stems to help them take up water. You can do this by splitting the stems about a half inch from the bottom with a knife or mash the last inch or so with a mallet or meat tenderizer.

6. Cut flowers take up water through the stem ends and not the sides. Foliage left below the waterline pollutes the water as they rot. It also increases bacterial presence and this decreases the vase life (see bleach below)

7. If you have the time (and patience) clean the stems with a soft brush as this will remove further impurities and keep the water cleaner

8. The time between cutting flowers in the garden and placing them in water should be kept to a minimum. Unless immersed in water, stems absorb oxygen and the air causes embolisms or air plugs inside the stems, and this disrupts the flow of nutrients inside cut flowers.

There are more things that you can do regarding the room temp and additives that will help your preserving fresh cut flowers.

The world is swinging back to backyard vegetable production. We are sick and tired of the chemicals etc. that gets poured into our food these days and we are revolting. Back in the old days everyone had a backyard veggie patch and it was considered the norm. Along came all those leisure activities and functions and before long there was no weekend left so the veggie garden became just weeds and our vegetables were all purchased form the local fruit and veggie shop. Even that has almost gone by the wayside as the giant supermarkets take over the fruit and vegetable industry and dictate prices to the growers. However, we are now seeing veggie gardeners returning to that backyard veggie patch in droves.

One of the main objections to growing veggies at home was all that hard work in digging and garden preparation. But that has all gone too and is no longer necessary. If you are a woodworking buff you can easily build some of the new style no-dig garden beds for your veggies. Imagine that, no more garden digging. Put your garden spade on the hook in the shed and leave it there. Check out some of the plans for raised bed gardening and get started on nice healthy vegetables.

Basically you will make lumber garden beds with lumber 8″ to 12′ high and peg it and fasten it securely. These beds need to be only 3′ to 4′ wide so you can garden without standing in the garden itself as this compacts the soil. Fill these beds with good top soil and then cover with several inches of straw mulch. This will stop weeds growing and will keep your soil at a good happy growing temperature as well as keep it moist. When you plant your seedlings just part the straw and plant. As the mulch breaks down into the soil it will only enhance it so add more as it is needed. That is your only maintenance. A little fertilizer and a water now and then and you are producing happy pest free vegetables. And you haven’t used a spade or done any digging. Check out the ideas now in some woodworking plans and patterns and you will soon be harvesting your own healthy veggies.

Have you ever considered setting up a garden for your entire family? Wouldn’t it be neat having a space for everyone to enjoy and to work together in? Here are a few tips for you to think about and consider when you start planning for a family garden:

1. The garden needs to be green. You might say this is pretty obvious. I am however referring to the new definition of the word “green”. The garden needs to be environmentally friendly. You want to add something to the planet, not create more damage. So carefully consider what kind of garden you want and the types of vegetables, flowers, shrubs or trees that you want to plant. What type of layout do you want to have? Will you have a pond, a small waterfall, or just plants? These are all questions you need to consider before you put the shovel in the ground the first time.

2. The garden needs to be functional. Now you are really starting to wonder where I am coming from. What does functionality have to do with a garden? Your garden could be the most elaborate in the neighborhood, but if it is not functional you have wasted your time, money and effort. While beautiful and colorful plants may be visually appealing, they may not be the optimum usage of space for your family. Consider having several smaller spaces in your garden for different uses, for example: a sitting area; a quiet meditation area; a children’s play area and/or an area for pets.

3. Consider the needs and desires of the entire family, including your pets. Everyone has a different opinion as to what is beautiful or not. Some people are formal and want every leaf just so, others just want a place to run and play. Think about a spot for picnics, or open spaces to play in. Think about what would make this a fun, yet relaxing and entertaining space that the entire family will enjoy. You’ll be surprised what you can come up with. Get the entire family involved. Go to home and garden shows and go visit public gardens. See what others have done and go for it.

4. Do you know what you want to get out of the garden? I think I have already touched on this, but it is important. What area of the world do you live in? Do you have 4 seasons? Or are you in a hot environment? The area you live in and the climate changes you experience will give you some things to consider. You might not want to have an acre of green grass if you live in a desert type of environment. And if you live in the north, tropical plants will not be a good fit. So please keep in mind the region you live in before you start your garden project. Also consider using plants that are native species to your region, as they will be hardier and not upset the local bio-system.

5. Will you have a need for privacy? Are you looking for a private spot to meditate or to relax? This would imply that you might want vines, or bushes to give you privacy. Or how about a small maze that ends in a seating area? Let your imagination soar.

Hopefully this has given you some food for thought. Getting a garden going will be something the entire family can get into and it will be good for the environment and planet. It will also give you something to be able to enjoy when you have time off and need to get away – right in your own backyard!

Composting is a method of recycling naturally, a process that uses microorganisms, that include bacteria and fungi, to decompose organic material into a nutrient rich humus or organic matter that can be used to amend your gardens soil and add nutrients for plant life to benefit from.

There are several ways that you can create a composting system. You can use a compost bin, tumbler or just a simple pile, they all are good methods. It is best to keep the area that you do your composting dry and not in a low area that water sits, along with an area that has good air circulation.

Even though you can compost green material or brown material separately, it is best to mix these two components equally. Green material being nitrogen rich, like by-products of plant life and brown material being carbon rich, like cardboard, paper, and saw dust or wood shavings. Avoid the use of any dairy products, cooked foods, meats or litter from cats or dogs. plants that have suffered from diseases should be avoided, especially if you are cold composting.

Collecting equal parts of brown and green organic material at the same time is not always possible, just be sure as you collect material that you mix it together well with what already exists in your pile if you are hot composting. With the cold compost method you can just keep piling the material as you get it and leave it to decompose naturally, it just takes longer for the decomposition process to finish. The end results will still be a nutrient rich humus, known as organic matter. Keeping your compost pile mixed, moist and
aerated will allow the process of decomposition to process the material quicker and avoid the possibility of any odors that my occur.

Depending on the method you choose for your composting operation, it can take anywhere from as little as six weeks to a year to have a product that is ready to use for your organic gardening needs.

Compost has many benefits, when added as a soil amendment, it will supply nutrients for plant life to benefit from, helps plants build a resistance to disease and pest problems, it aids in the breakdown of toxins that may exist in the soil, improves the soils structure, and retains moisture to name a few.

Used as mulch, compost also has benefits that will create a healthy environment for the plants you are growing. It is a great way to suppress weeds and prevent moisture from evaporating from the soil.

Composting your organic household and yard waste is a cost effective method of recycling, along with being healthier for the environment by avoiding the use of chemical fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides.

We’ve come to associate rose colors with various meanings based on history and mythology. Cleopatra valued the flowers for their scent; Aphrodite is credited with creating the first rose from a mixture of her tears and Adonis’s blood. Roses are woven throughout the ages in music, paintings, literature, and more.

We give roses as gifts, and knowing what meaning is attached to their colors will help select the right sentiment we mean to express.

The Red Rose

Everyone knows about red roses; they express passion or love. The most popular color flower for Valentine’s Day and expressions of romance and love, red is the number one best seller for florists. Red roses are typically given in the long-stem style.

The Pink Rose

When giving a pink rose, with its soft soothing shades one thinks of affection or maybe admiration. Thank you’s are frequently accompanied with these pastel-tinted flowers, as well as the occasional expression of sympathy.

The White Rose

When we think of white, we think of brides and weddings; white roses are a symbol of purity. The main choice for bridal flowers, this flower is sophisticated yet simple. This color of flower is often used at funerals, where we show honor and respect with white. There is a spiritual component to white which ties in with honoring a departed one.

The Yellow Rose

The color of the sun, bright and strong, yellow roses are all about happiness. The color is relatively new for roses, post 18th century, and is strongly associated with friendship. It is a very popular color for roses.

The Orange Rose

The orange rose can be soft and coral-like or fiery like the sunset. Either way, orange is for passion and desire. If you picked this flower as a gift you might be hinting at a possible romance. It’s a 20th century rose, a hybrid of red and yellow, and as a new flower color its meaning will change with time.

The Lavender Rose

If the message is mysterious or hinting of enchantment, then the lavender rose is perfect. The rareness of the color lavender has caused people to associate the flower with the unusual. It could be a love at first sight gift. If you pick a deeper shade of purple the color hints at royalty and elegance.

The Mix of Roses

If roses of varied colors are combined the significance of their colors is changed. Red roses in a bouquet with orange and deep gold colors are autumnal and no longer speak of passion. A soft pink flower can combined with other pastel flowers for the perfect baby gift or a spring bouquet. Use creativity when combining rose colors; combine them for seasonal affect or to express a wider array of sentiments.

Hosta Andrew is a wonderful large blue variegated Hosta plant. This plant forms a clump that is 21 inches high by 50 inches wide. The ovate leaves of Andrew are 9 inches long by 7 inches wide. This plant does need a decent amount of space in order to grow to its full potential.

The colors of Andrew’s leaves are a white with a nice wide blue/green margin. There is a narrow area of a more green color between the white and the blue sections of this plant. It is a tri-colored plant and all the colors work together in harmony to form a very attractive Hosta plant. The blue color is actually more blue than green which is nice because many blue/green Hostas are more green than blue.

Hosta Andrew does require shade to grow. Many of the blue Hostas cannot be grown in much sun and Andrew is no exception. This perennial plant requires protection from slugs.

The flowers of this Hosta are pale lavender and are held 22 inches above the plant itself. The flowers of Hosta Andrew are insignificant and have sterile seeds.

This is a great plant for beginners as it is not a demanding plant. It requires basic Hosta care such as plenty of water and well drained fertile soil.

This plant is slow growing and should not be used as a quick filler for the garden. Give it the time it needs to grow and it will be the showpiece of your shade garden.

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