Vertical Gardening Secrets

Let’s not limit ourselves to what’s classified as window boxes in the garden centers. Striking visual effects can be gained though using copper kettles, metal containers – you name it. The rectangular look isn’t gospel when it comes to designing your window box creation. You can even set up painted cans on a windowsill, baskets, tea kettles, unique pottery, etc. Just make sure that the containers don’t block your view from the window. Also, attach the pots to the window sill safely and securely so that they don’t go flying off into the wind.

Remember to add drainage holes if the window box doesn’t already have them predrilled. Customising window boxes and other containers Go ahead and try your hand at decorating your wooden, terracotta and plastic containers yourself! You could repaint each season if you like a new look from time to time. There are so many glazes and spray paints out there – you could get a little carried away! You can also add materials on the container like seashells, mosaic tiles, mirror tiles, etc. Just use water‐resistant tile adhesive and grout along with your broken glass pieces or tiles. It’s simple and just the thing for crafty folks! You may end up with some passersby who stop to ask just what your window boxes are made of! These personal touch containers make great gifts, by the way, and your friends and family will love them!

No pressure to be super crafty, though. You can have a stunning presentation with a simple design. No matter what you choose, you’ll add beauty to your home and impress your friends and neighbors. Who knows? They might actually join you in your next window box creation adventure. Remember – the planning stage is crucial. Think about your window box design, what plants and colors you like, and how it will fit the look of your home. Consider those elements, and whatever you do will enhance your home design.

I have heard of people using pots and pans, bowls and pottery, even old boots and kid’s dumptrucks to create containers. So think “outside the window box”! Pick up your free copy of container gardening secrets here.

Feel free to plant aloes and cacti as well in your containers. The spiky look gives a southwest feel to a home. No matter what you choose, you can’t go wrong in sprucing up your home with windowboxes. Dramatic or basic, odd‐ball or classic, you can create your own styles in a flash. Start planning while you’re inspired – even if it’s winter! You never know what great ideas you’ll come up with for an stunning look! Container gardenings secrets is a free book with lots of ideas.

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Plastic boxes may look a bit boring, but they’re lightweight. Since the material isn’t porous, you won’t need to water them as much as some other containers. Lot of folks prefer a more natural look, though, and opt out of plastic altogether. We’ll talk a little later about how you can decorate a plastic container to look more natural, so don’t give up on the plastic idea totally.

Wooden boxes may be treated with preservatives that you don’t want leaching into the soil. This is especially true if you’re planting edibles, like herbs, salad greens or berries. I recommend that you don’t risk planting produce in wooden containers unless you’ve built them from scratch yourself. This way you can be sure no dangerous chemicals are used in the construction.

Terracotta containers are available in about every style and size known to man. This type of material is attractive, although it can crack rather easily and may not last as long as some other materials. Sometimes terracotta doesn’t do well in frost, so think of that as you plan your mini‐garden.

You can find lightweight fiber “containers” (I’m using the term loosely here) in garden centers. These really are more useful for lining hanging baskets or more rustic containers made of branches. They do hold moisture well, though, and many plant lovers buy them solely for that reason.

Tin window boxes are available, too, and while the first thought of using this material may not strike your fancy, it can make for an eyecatching display. Some of my favorite containers are made of fiberglass. Extremely durable, these lightweight boxes are often finished to look like other materials. You can get the look of terracotta in a sturdy material that will last for years.

Step one in your decision making process – do you want the container to blend in with your house?  Do try to choose a material that doesn’t look totally out of place! If you have a really large window, look for a box that fits it. If your window is smaller, choose a box that’s more compact. Sometimes we have the tendency to want the biggest and best so we can plant as much as possible, but think of using window boxes more for design and use other containers for your garden experiments. Should you not find that perfect container, buy a plain one and decorate it however you wish. Just be aware that some chemicals you can use in decoration may not make it safe to plant edibles.

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Have a bare empty windowsill? It’s so easy to add a window box overflowing with a rainbow of colors and beautiful foliage! If you love plants, if you enjoy the beauty of a garden within arm’s reach, you’ll love the ease and fun of window box gardening.

Transforming that bare space into a magical mini‐garden isn’t rocket science. Let your creativity flow and try out your ideas because basically ‐ you can’t mess up.

Fun! Fun! Fun!

Especially if you live in an apartment and don’t have a backyard of your own, you can have a mini‐garden close by ‐ the window sill may provide you with the perfect way to bring a taste of the great outdoors up close and personal. Window boxes indeed add a breath of fresh air.

Apartment dweller or not, anyone can benefit from window box gardening. They make for the perfect design and decoration, adding color, beauty, and creativity to your home. The sky’s the limit when it comes to choosing the perfect plants for your window box. There are some simple principles to follow for success. Beyond that, just go for it, and build your own masterpiece!

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If you are growing plants in baskets there are a few things that you will need to take care of if the plants are to survive.

Obviously you will need to start with the best and healthiest seeds or plants.
It is important that you choose good quality container mix too. There are proprietary hanging basket mixes that you really should use as they have been developed to provide the best growing conditions in these unique situations.

For aesthetics you will probably want to get the basket looking as ‘full’ as possible so you will be cramming the plants in. It is best to put the larger plants in the middle of the basket with smaller plants trailing out to the edges and the sides.

The larger the basket the better chance your plants will have to survive and they will also require less maintenance.

As with all plants no matter where they are growing water will be essential and with baskets more care is required than normal. You can place a water trough between the plants and the liner to maintain a place to hold water that would normally seep through the liner.

In warmer weather you will need to water the plants more often and this is best handled with a long watering wand, which makes reaching the plants easier. Occasionally, where you have baskets that are easily moved, you can soak the entire basket in a tub of water.
If the basket has been quite dry you will need to soak it until the bubbles stop rising.

Always use quality liquid plant feed to ensure your plants are getting all the nutrients that they require.
To prevent the plants from drying out in the sun and the wind aim to get maximum foliage coverage.

If you take the time to give your basket plants the additional care that they need, you will be rewarded with a pleasant addition to any living area. Pick up a free copy of container gardening secrets today.

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How to manage your plants for better health and better fruit

Undoubtedly, the main reason tomatoes are so widely grown is that home-grown tomatoes taste so much better than their store-bought counterparts. But another reason for growing tomatoes is the intrinsic vigor and hardiness of this nightshade relative, which almost always guarantees a successful harvest. However, the rapid growth of a healthy tomato plant can also lead to problems.

Like all plants, a tomato is a solar-powered sugar factory. For the first month or so it’s in the garden, all of the sugar it produces is directed towards new leaf growth. During this stage, tomato plants grow very rapidly, doubling their size every 12 to 15 days. Eventually, the plants make more sugar than the single growing tip can use, which signals the plant to make new branches and to flower.

This usually happens after 10 to 13 leaves have expanded, at which time the plant is 12 to 18 inches tall. In the next few weeks, the entire character of the tomato plant changes. If unsupported, the increasing weight of filling fruit and multiple side branches forces the plant to lie on the ground.

At this point you will need to stake the plants. Once the main stem is horizontal, there is an increased tendency to branch. Left on it’s own, a vigorous indeterminate tomato plant can easily cover a 4- by 4-foot area with as many as 10 stems, each 3 to 5 feet long. By season’s end, it will be an unsightly, impenetrable, disease-wracked tangle.

Early pruning encourages strong stems. Remove all suckers and leaves below the first flower cluster. Let a second stem arise from the node just above the lowest flower cluster. Let a third stem arise from the second node above the first flower cluster. For 20 gardening tips visit My Perferct Garden.net

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Tomatoes from the grocery store shelves taste well, NOTHING! Most of the tomatoes purchased from grocery stores have been harvested days before they reach the grocery, treated to turn red, and bred to stay firm and not bruise on the shelves. Plant breeding for the last fifty years has concentrated on producing a tomato that can survive anything, except for a taste test.

Gardeners and tomato aficionados alike have given up on the produce aisle for anything other than garnish. Instead, they turn to seed and plant catalogs to find tasty varieties to grow. When viewing a plant catalog of tomato seed sources, you will be confronted with hundreds of varieties. Huge and tiny, purple, red, yellow and orange tomatoes. Perfectly round, almost flat, and lemon-shaped tomatoes. Seed catalog highlight another variable to understand regarding tomato growing.

Heirloom versus Hybrid tomatoes.

Heirloom Tomatoes
Tasty and unique, heirloom varieties are endless. This category of plant is where you will find purple, orange and yellow tomatoes sharing space with red ones. Heirloom varieties are open pollinated plants, which means that if you harvest seeds from a plant, prepare them, save them, and plant them next year, you will grow the same plant. Heirloom varieties were developed over time, in isolated gardens and communities, thus developing unique characteristics.

Heirlooms require particular growing conditions, and each variety is different. The key to success with heirlooms is choosing a variety that is well suited to your growing conditions. Because heirloom tomatoes have not been bred for generations to promote vigor and disease resistance, these varieties need a little bit of extra care. They are, however, worth the extra work. Heirlooms will produce lush, flavorful tomatoes of every shape, size and hue, for every culinary taste or need.

Hybrid Tomatoes
These tomatoes are the result of two different tomato varieties being ?crossed? or joined, and the seeds harvested from the resulting plants. Hybrid tomato seeds will produce the tomato with hybrid characteristics for only one plant generation. If you harvest your tomatoes from the hybrid plant and plant those seeds next year, you will not have the same plant.

Hybrid tomatoes have been bred for disease resistance, uniformity, and ability to withstand mechanical harvesting, packing and shipping. Little time has been spent in enhancing flavor in hybrid tomatoes. Much like hybrid tea roses, hybrid tomatoes may be nice to look at, but they have few other desirable attributes.

For 20 tips on gardening visit My Perfect Garden.net

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First you need to find the right size container for your plants. If you want the little cherry tomatoes (which are excellent in salads) then you can use the regular size hanging baskets, but if you prefer the larger tomatoes you’d do best to purchase five gallon buckets, because your plants need plenty of room to grow, you don’t want them to be cramped.

Next you need to go to a nursery and purchase your tomato plants. You don’t want to get too large of a plant, you can buy a determinate tomato plant, that stops growing after they reach a certain size, or indeterminate that will continue to grow and produce larger tomato plants. Two very popular indeterminate tomato plants are Big Beef and Better Boy, which are also very resistant to plant disease and will give you tomatoes for a longer period of time.

Now you’re ready to begin planting, make sure you put some holes in the bottom of your container for proper drainage. You don’t want your plant to become overwhelmed with excess water. Remove a few of the bottom leaves and place in the container. Make sure you don’t use a flimsy, light weight container, because when your tomatoes are in bloom they may be top heavy and could cause the plant to topple. Putting some type of stakes in the container and tying the plant to them will help to keep your tomato plants straight. Use healthy potting soil with natural organic matter. Ask at your neighborhood nursery for help in picking out the proper soil and fertilizer for in home planting. Pick up a free copy of vertical gardening secrets here.

Plants need plenty of sunlight, at least 6 to 8 hours a day. It’s probably a good idea to pick up a grow light for the days that are cloudy, because a lack of light can be harmful to your plants. Be sure to water them daily, forgetting to water them for a couple of days and then starting to water them again, and then you once again forgetting; this back and forth process can cause the death of your plants. So please, be consistent with your care for them.

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If you give your plants excess water or have poor drainage you will run the risk of water logging them

This will cause the leaves to go a yellow or brown color and they will usually drop off.
When plants start getting waterlogged the leaves at the bottom of the plant will be affected first.
By the time the upper leaves of the plant start turning yellow and brown you have a real problem.

The problem arises because of the fact that plants need air as well as water around their roots to survive and with excessive watering the air pockets in the soil are filled with water.
Without this air the roots of the plant will begin to die and as the roots are needed to supply the plant with the necessary nutrients to survive, the plant begins to die from the bottom up.
That is why you see the lower leaves getting affected first.

To remedy the situation you will need to allow the soil to dry out to reduce the water content.
If the plant is in a container you will need to check to see whether there are sufficient drainage holes to allow excess water to escape.

If the soil has become compacted from all the water it is best to remove the plant and give it some new soil. Often when plants begin to wilt they can appear to be lacking water when the opposite is the case so it is best to check the moisture content of the soil before assuming the plant needs more water.

Before watering your plants allow the soil to dry out completely, or partially between watering to reduce the chance of them getting waterlogged. Try to improve the drainage of the soil for plants in the garden and even consider raising the garden for better water control. I know it’s hot this time of year but feel the soil before watering to see if it’s still moist.

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I have always wondered who ever determined what was a weed and what was a flower.
There are some delightful looking weeds that grow in the garden even when we don’t want them to be there.

I guess the best explanation of what represents a weed, and what represents a flower is, a weed is a plant that is growing somewhere that it shouldn’t be.

I’m sure that if we started planting these plants that we call weeds, the ones that we call flowers now would start sprouting up everywhere.

I have known people who will happily leave weeds in the garden if they think their color and style will add to the variety of their garden.

More often than not however, we fight the never-ending battle to eradicate these unwanted residents from our gardens only to have them grow back faster than ever.

Adding a covering of mulch will help to reduce the return of weeds.
Another method that helps is to lay dampened newspaper on the ground before covering it with mulch. This is very effective.

The problem with weeds is the fact that many of these plants are better at seeking out the nutrients in the soil and by doing so they are using the goodness that we want for the plants that we choose to have in the garden. Many weeds also attract insects to the garden that can affect the condition of other plants.

No matter how diligent we are at removing weeds from the garden they will always reappear as their seeds are transported by insects, the wind, and even on the clothing and shoes that we wear.

Replanting from one garden to another can easily introduce new weeds so it is always important to check the soil and the roots of the plants that you are moving to ensure you aren’t transplanting weeds also.

This is another reason I appreciate container gardening. It’s so much easier to maintain. If you want a great little book on container gardening you can get a free copy here.

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