Happy Garden - April 12, 2007

More people are sending gardening photos, which is fantastic. It's great to see what other people are growing! This week we have an article about Hydroponics, some great tips, including some ideas for fixing a leaky hose.

Happy Gardening!

Susan

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Photos:

• Recycled Chair Planters
• Pictures from My Garden
• My Hibiscus Plant
• My Raised Garden

Tips and Articles:

• The Joy of Hydroponics
• Recycling In The Garden
• Milk Carton Plant Stakes
• Kill Pests In The Garden
• Egg Cartons For Seedings
• How to Control Poison Ivy
• Repairing a Leaky Water Hose
• Cooperative Gardening With Friends
• Soaker Hoses and Newspaper
• Growing No Till Vegetables

New Requests:

• Killing Scallions
• Gnats on Plants
• How can I get rid of climbing ivy?
• Boll Weevils on My Rose of Sharon
• Decorating My Entrance With Planters
• How can I easily hold up my Gladiolus?
• Hydrangea Not Blooming
• Keeping Bees Out of Bird Houses

Crafting for Fun and Money!

If you are an avid crafter, capable writer and own a digital camera, you are eligible to participate. Submit your craft projects to ThriftyFun and we will pay $15 for any crafts that we publish.

More Information:
Click Here: http://www.thriftyfun.com/post_craft.ldml

Recycled Chair Planters

Materials:

• 1 old cane back chair
• chicken wire
• burlap preform or hanging burlap basket
• moss
• potting soil if needed
• plants

Instructions:

Once these old chairs have the seats go bad on them, unless you can refurbish them, they're usually pretty worthless. I found a great way to salvage them as well as come up with new planters.

Take and webbing left in the seat area and strip it all out. Cut an ample square of chicken wire to fit down into the seat area and form a square or round type of planter to hold your plants. Roll the chicken wire over the seat frame area and twist the ends of the chicken wire to hold it firmly in place.

Take your moss and line the planter area that you've formed in the seat. I go a little heavier on the sides to prevent losing it when watering. Take the burlap and fit it into your seat area, fill in extra moss around the edges, you want to have a stable planting area.

Fill with plants to your heart's desire. I like to take either ivy's or taller plants on the back side, they entwine themselves around the chair frame as they grow. Looks great on your front porch and adds a little variety from your regular pots. You can also pre-paint or refinish the chair to your liking before turning it into a planter. White with stencil backing or ivy painted on the framework looks great too!

By Nelda Taylor from Dallas, TX

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Pictures from My Garden

Just sharing some garden pictures. I don't know the name of the bearded iris. Does anyone know a name for this?

By Great Granny Vi from Moorpark, CA

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My Hibiscus Plant

This is an indoor Hibiscus Plant. It just started blooming about 1 week ago. It has on it at least 12 buds. The important tip with this plant is; When this plant is beginning to bud and bloom, It drinks up water very fast. It will only keep budding if it is fed each day, about 1 cup of water.

Also, Each day that it blooms, The bloom only last 1 full day. The next morning, Clip off at the end of the stem of the curled up bloom. Each day, It should increase the amount of blooms.

I noticed today, It has blossomed 3 new flowers. And this should continue for the spring and summer. When the warm weather is here to stay, This indoor plant can go outdoors. It loves the sunshine. But, Keep an eye on watering it. It is a lot of fun watching the growth in a plant like this.

Hugs,

By Jackie Hunt from Norton, MA

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My Raised Garden

Here is my raised garden.

By Ross from Merryville, Louisiana

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The Joy of Hydroponics
By Ellen Brown

The exact definition of "hydroponics" is a little tricky. While the Greek words "hydro" and "ponics" means "water" and "labor," respectively, the art of hydroponics has to do with soil-less gardening; but not necessarily in water.

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Recycling In The Garden

For a year I saved all the plastic bottles, paper egg cartons, towel and toilet paper cardboard rolls for such a time as this:

When most of my seedlings got up with their first leaves, not yet with their "true leaves", I was in the midst of mixed weather, having to bring them in and outside a lot. To eliminate the toll to each tiny transported seedling, I cut each cardboard roll into the appropriate height and carefully placed it around the fragile seedling, providing further support and conserving it's moisture. One must keep in mind that in carrying each seed tray, wind and touching are the most likely factors to break a tiny stem. The other is some sort of pest that has invaded the tray while they were outside. These protective collars can wick moisture away from the seedling, so be careful to keep the seedlings evenly moist.

After using the soil from a trench near the compost bins for composting, the 12' deep empty trench will be filled with both sifted compost, soil and sand to make a bed to plant the root crops for my first adventure with them. Do all sifting on a still day gently and be careful not to inhale any of the debris, soil dust, or to get too close to the sifting process. I got in a hurry and forgot, breathing a quantity of the sifted materials and got pneumonia from it. It was an expensive lesson which I am now recuperating from, I hope. It came right after I was attacked by the neighborhood flu bug along with many others. Use extreme caution with garden supplies and allow plenty of time to think things through before taking on a new project.

Save and recycle those rolls. Their diameter is perfect for the average paper egg carton planted with seedlings. Make certain they are firmly set into the surrounding soil so that their roundness can buffet winds. If done just right, all the same height, you can paperclip each one to the other to keep them stable. The necks of plastic bottles are coming in handy for all of my lettuces by turning them upside down over the stem to offer all sorts of "dish-like" support for the heads until they are big enough to cut off. It discourages bugs from cutting the stem as well. I then cover the growing plants with the remaining gallon plastic bottles until strong and near harvesting. They seem to really appreciate/like the protection. If the plastic neck collars are trimmed slightly before placing around the plant, they will more easily fit well into the bottle for support as the lettuce head matures and the sun warms up.

Remember to poke several small nail holes in the bottoms of each gallon jug to allow moisture to escape, but not bugs in. I plan to use plastic bottle halves with tiny punched drain holes under the vine crop fruit to keep them from rotting on hay straw while I wrap each piece with nylon to discourage mice/rats/birds. This is one reason it's called a "nursery".

By Lynda from TX

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Milk Carton Plant Stakes

Plastic milk cartons cut into strips make great plant label stakes when you write on them with a sharpie! Recycled and free, great, huh!

By Linda from Vista, CA

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Kill Pests In The Garden

Ants: Use aspartame (NutraSweet) around the foundation of the house and it will kill the ants.

Slugs: Slugs love beer. Put shallow bowls of beer where you have slug problems and the slugs will fall in and drown.

Aphids: Mix a mild dishwashing detergent and wash or spray the leaves of your plants. This works great on roses.

By Sherry from Silverdale WA

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Egg Cartons For Seedings

Collect the cardboard egg containers during the winter and use them to start your seeds indoors in. Cover them with plastic wrap, venting them a bit until the plants start to come up.

By Sherry from Silverdale, WA

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How to Control Poison Ivy
By Marilyn Pokorney

Poison ivy is found throughout southern Canada and most of the United States except Alaska and Hawaii. It is readily found along road sides, fences, railroads, and streams. But it can also be found in your own back yard. It is planted there in bird droppings from the birds who eat the berries of the plant.

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Repairing a Leaky Water Hose

Tips on repairing a leaky garden hose.

Silicone Caulk And Tape

Get hose completely dry. If hole is tiny, fill it with rubber cement, If large, use silicone caulk. When the cement has dried, wrap the area starting about an inch from the hole with black plastic tape.

By Alobarbear

Use Copper Tubing And Clamps

If the hose is large enough inside, (like 5/8") cut it through the leak, place a piece of copper tubing inside and use hose clamps on each end of the cut. I've had one fixed like that for over 20 years. It is a good rubber hose.

By Siris

Hose Menders

You can get all size hose menders at any stores that carry gardening supplies; Walmart, Lowes, Home Depot, etc. You just need to know whether you have 1/4",1/2".5/8",3/4" hose. They are very cheap.

All you have to do is cut the bad part out, insert the right size hose connector and tighten. I usually put a little vegetable oil around the insert to make it slide in easier. I also keep a plastic shoe box full of all size connectors, male and female ends for the end of the hoses, plumber's tape to snug up threads, rubber O rings, Y connectors with shut offs, if you want to run more than one hose. They also carry connectors so you can attach additional hoses to make them longer.

Buy Water timers when they are on sale. Some have batteries so they automatically go on and off when you want. With the other type, you just turn timer as to how long you want to water and they go off automatically. The battery ones are great, especially when you go on vacations as the ground still get watered.

By Dee

Post your own ideas here.

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Cooperative Gardening With Friends

Organize your gardening with friends. You plant the tomatoes, she plants the zucchini-then you share the bounty. Next year switch so you don't deplete the soil.

By Linda

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Soaker Hoses and Newspaper

I've been gardening, seems like forever. My best 'creation' was laying a soaker hose along the growing rows, then cover the garden with newspapers. They must be 8-10 sheets deep to keep out the weeds. During the winter, we count the weekly paper out and staple the corners to keep them separate. That gave me an idea. so now when I lay the papers in the garden, I staple them together. They don't fly around and 'repairs' are easy.

When it's planting time, I just cut the place I wish to plant and there ya go. These pics were taken a couple of years ago when we had very little rain. I ran the soakers very little and in August which was the worst here, I was even giving lettuce and mesculun mix to my neighbors.

In one pic I believe you can see the umbrella which I use along with a sheet to shade the lettuce area when it gets hot. My neighbor gave me rav compliments when I showed up with my 'extra' for her, and she had a very important dinner meeting for her husbands clients. They all asked where she had gotten such wonderful greens for the salad. That compliment alone made my year! Also? those newspapers compost down, just need some grass clippings to help. Easy way to do it all.

Feed the garden, save water, lessen the weeding, keeps your feet clean when it's muddy too!. Happy gardening!!

By Kathy

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Growing No Till Vegetables

Advice for starting a no till garden.

Nog Till Potatoes

Here's what my Daddy did when he planted potatoes. He dug a lil furrow and planted potatoes and covered them ever so lightly with dirt. Then he covered that with a little hay. Then as the plants grew, he covered with more hay. He kept doing that until plants were waist high. Then when potaoes were ready to harvest, he would just turn back the hay and there were the potaoes. No digging.

By Pam819

Growing Vegetables

When starting your garden, mow the grass short, place cardboard or thick layers of newspapers over the top. On top, you put horse or sheep manure, lawn clippings, weeds, lucerne hay. It will work well with potatoes until it starts to break down. Just make sure to put plenty of covering over your potatoes as they grow because they will be green if they aren't covered up from the sun. Next year you will be able to plant peas, zucchinis, tomatoes, pumpkins or cucumbers. The year after, you can plant beans or corn as the soil develops. Good luck!

Feel free to post your ideas below.

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Killing Scallions

How do you kill scallions?

Hardiness Zone: 6b

Jay from Rahway, NJ

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Gnats on Plants

Are there any products around the house that I can use directly in or on the soil of the plant to get rid if the gnats that won't harm my dog or the plant? I already have lighted gnat traps and don't want to leave jars w with vinegar, wine or juice laying around the house. Those cut down the numbers, but aren't getting rid of them entirely. HELP.

Susanne from Durango, CO

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How can I get rid of climbing ivy?

How can I get rid of climbing ivy? It is growing all over one wall of the house and I have noticed it coming into the house through a crack in the wall.

Hardiness Zone: 3b

Kara from United Kingdom, Worcester

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Boll Weevils on My Rose of Sharon

How do I get rid of boll weevils that are attacking my rose of sharon?

Hardiness Zone: 8b

Joanne from GA

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Decorating My Entrance With Planters

I would like to decorate my front door entrance on the outside. I live in a small rental house and I was thinking about buying a large planter/pot and putting a few flowers i.e. geraniums in them. I might put a planter on each side of the door. How do I keep the planter from falling over if the wind blows? I have never done any type of gardening and would like simple advise.

Thanks,
Onesummer

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How can I easily hold up my Gladiolus?

How can I easily hold up my Gladiolus?

Hardiness Zone: 7a

Paula Jo Carr from Mebane, NC

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Hydrangea Not Blooming

We have two hydrangea plants that were given to us at same time. We planted them side by side at the same time. Both plants flourished, one had many blooms the other just green and healthy looking, no blooms - what can we do to make it bloom or should we just remove non-blooming plant?

Hardiness Zone: 9a

Betty from Orange, TX

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Keeping Bees Out of Bird Houses

How to keep bees out of birdhouses once the birds have laid eggs?

Bobcarnif from Mount Pleasant, SC

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Crafting for Fun and Money!

If you are an avid crafter, capable writer and own a digital camera, you are eligible to participate. Submit your craft projects to ThriftyFun and we will pay $15 for any crafts that we publish.

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