Archive for June, 2009
a gardening carnival – June 24, 2009
Posted by: | CommentsWelcome to the June 24, 2009 edition of a gardening carnival.
John Mellem presents Survival Stew: Safeguard Your Garden With Motion Detection Sprinklers posted at Survival Stew.
Gregory E. Rouse presents Raised Bed Garden Mounds posted at Raised-Bed-Gardening Blog, saying, “Raised beds are one of the best ways to garden for the home gardener. They allow you to do concentrated gardening, square foot gardening, companion planting, mulching, etc… They’re easy to build and relatively cheap. But if you’re looking for the cheapest and easiest way to do raised beds and you have the room for it, then raised bed mounds are the way to go.”
Talia presents Mobile Garden posted at backtobasics-talia.com.
flowers
AdmirableIndia.com presents Maitri Bagh, Bhilai: Part 5 posted at AdmirableIndia.com.
GrrlScientist presents Egyptian Star Cluster of Manhattan, 2 posted at Living the Scientific Life, saying, “Egyptian Star Cluster, also known as the Star Flower, Pentas lanceolata.”
gardening
Vikki Lawrence-Williams presents Raspberries and Strawberries posted at Backyard Grocery Gardening, saying, “We address growing a grocery’s-worth of produce in your yard at www.backyardgrocerygardening.blogspot.com. This posting (at http://backyardgrocerygardening.blogspot.com/2009/05/raspberries-and-strawberries.html) shows our raspberries and strawberries. Yum!”
Sandy Wong presents Guidelines and Basic Tips of Drilling Drainage Hole on Garden Container | Gardening on Cloud 9 posted at Gardening on Cloud 9, saying, “We know that good drainage is the key to healthy plants, but the containers that we find most attractive are often the ones without drainage holes. But we can drill the drainage holes by ourselves, and it is much easier than what most of us would expect. All we need is an electric drill and steady hands. And here, let me show you how to drill holes on our containers.”
Brian presents Super Sturdy Trellis posted at Meadowwood Garden, saying, “Need support? The Super Sturdy Trellis is inexpensive, easy to make and a hurricane couldn’t knock it down! Perfect for pole beans, peas, melons, cucumbers etc. Visit us to learn how to make yours!”
Watch Me Eat presents Watch Me Eat: Beans Fresh From the Garden posted at Watch Me Eat, saying, “Documenting a harvest of Yard Long Asparagus beans and Purple Podded Pole beans that were grown in the backyard.”
paul searle presents A new online bird watching community reaches for the sky | Press Releases @ Your Story posted at paul searle.
Neighbor Nancy presents How To Make Jam — A Beginner Tutorial posted at Recession Depression Therapy, saying, “As the berries ripen and you discover you have more than enough why not try making jam? It’s easier than you think. Plus, homemade berry jam keeps that Summer flavor all through the year, unlike bland store bought jam. Go ahead. Give it a try.”
Rebecca Riggs presents Lasagna in the Butterfly Garden | simple.green.girl. posted at simple.green.girl..
NAOMI presents QUEEN UNVEILS ORGANIC VEGETABLE GARDEN AT BUCKINGHAM PALACE posted at Diary From England.
Grow Monkey presents Speculations er specifications posted at Grow Monkey Grow!, saying, “Project #2: Hydroponic Strawberries”
Bobbie Whitehead presents Blueberry Benefits posted at Bobbie Whitehead.
Lucynda Riley presents Banana Tree posted at Lucynda Riley.
herbs
Julian Pollock presents Growing Herbs for Fresh Organic Salads posted at Julian Pollock, saying, “This is the starter to a series of articles on growing and using herbs for health tonics and as tasty additions to your food.”
house plants
Pop Tart presents White Molds That Grow On Flower Pots posted at Things Your Grandmother Knew.
lawn care
sweta presents Lawn Care: Types of Sprinklers posted at Share Knowledge.
Amir Marzouq presents Electric Lawnmowers Can Help Save The Environment posted at Guffly.
presents How to Care for Your Lawn posted at Home Life Weekly, saying, “Simple lawn care tips to keep your lawn looking its best”
Lisa Newton presents Fungus is brutally attacking my yard… posted at Savings With Sadie, saying, “Check out what I am doing about fungus attacking my grass.”
organic gardening
Mother Hen presents Garden Update posted at Mother Hen.
Vera Nadine presents Hay While The Sun Shines posted at Solas Na Cruinne, saying, “A short piece about building and planting our very first vegetable garden.”
Michelle presents Build a PVC Chicken Tractor posted at Chicken Coop Plans, saying, “Chickens keep garden beds weeded and fertilized. A PVC chicken tractor is one way you can safely bring these birds into your garden areas.”
travelcat4 presents Local Bees Need Your Help To Make Onions! posted at Eco Friendly House And Garden.
travelcat4 presents Your Eco-Friendly Garden – Without The Chemicals posted at Eco Friendly House And Garden.
trees
Sharontpc presents Dr. Seuss is Living in the Big O! posted at Psychic Cottage, saying, “This is humorous but suitable as it is about trees, etc.”
vegetables
Jessica presents Everything You Ever Needed To Know About Garlic posted at Jessica’s Health Tips, saying, “Garlic is something everyone has an opinion about, one way or another.”
Mrs. Accountability presents June Garden Harvest | Out of Debt Again posted at Out of Debt Again, saying, “My June Harvest!”
Howling Duck Ranch presents Developing the Veggie Patch posted at Howling Duck Ranch, saying, “This is the beginnings of my now 3000 square foot veggie patch.”
That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of a gardening carnival using our carnival submission form. Our next edition of a gardening carnival will be available on July 29, 2009.
Technorati tags: a gardening carnival, blog carnival.
Raised Flower Beds
Posted by: | CommentsAs we drive around town in the spring, I like to look at what other people have done with the landscaping of their property- particularly flower beds. We have a new house with basically no landscape design. And, with no money to hire a professional landscape designer, we are left to our own creative devices. Hence the driving around looking for real life examples. Raised flower beds have caught my attention.
Photo provided by ladyheart
Raised flower beds are creative alternatives to the traditional flower beds that lay flush with the ground. Raised flower bed design is extremely versatile and personal. You can raise a bed to waist height if you like or leave it a few inches off of the ground. It all depends on your own gardening needs. And, their design can be customized to compliment your landscaping style. They can be made of brick, stone, concrete, or wood. Here are a few features to raised gardening that make it a desirable option in your landscape design.
• You can create the right conditions for special plants that don’t thrive in your soil.
• A raised bed allows for better drainage and most plants do better in well-drained soil anyway.
• Raised beds make gardening easier for people with joint conditions because they don’t have to do as much bending and kneeling. They also work great for the wheelchair bound.
• They make beautiful, stylish additions to the hardscaping of a property as they add new depth and personalization.
• In small paved spaces, they are often the only means for gardening and displaying plants.
• They’re a great space saver. Without needing to till or cultivate between rows, you can plant rows of flowers closer together and have higher yields.
• The soil won’t wash away.
• You can hand cultivate since you’re dealing with nice top soil that isn’t compacted.
• If a raised bed is built with a wide enough coping, you can have extra seating in your garden.
Raised flower beds are a great alternative for use in landscaping. I love how they soften the contrast between the yard and paving or the wall and yard. It’s great to know your options when building flower beds and designing the landscape of your yard. What’s your favorite part about having a raised flower bed?
Eradicating Weeds in the Garden
Posted by: | CommentsOne of the biggest sources of frustration for a gardener is our nemesis, the weed. Weeds seem to grow wherever they want, whenever they want. It doesn’t seem to matter if anything else will grow in that location or not. Invariably, a weed will grow and do it well.
So what are some options for getting rid of those pesky troublemakers? Of course there are many chemical solutions for weeds, but if you are looking for something a little more organic, then have I got a video for you! This week’s video is full of some really great ideas to get rid of those pesky weeds once and for all. And the video even explains why weeds grow and how we can inadvertently make things worse for ourselves. And who wants that to happen, right?
Now that you have seen the video, which techniques will you use in your garden? Do you have other solutions for getting rid of those nuisance-causing weeds? Leave me a comment and share.
