Do It Yourself Gardening - Gardening Catalog

Gardening catalogues are an excellent way for gardeners to purchase anything their heart desires or anything their garden requires without ever leaving their home. Gardening catalogues offer a wider variety at a cheaper cost with less hassle involved. You can order anything you want or need and have it delivered right to your door, ready for use.

Gardening catalogues are a treasure trove of information for both beginner and experienced gardeners. They will give detailed descriptions about all plant types available for purchase, their growing and blooming seasons, and the maintenance that is involved. They will tell readers exactly what nutrients each plant needs and the proper times to administer them. Catalogues even give tips and hints on things like how to control weeds and/or diseases that may infect your plants. They give step-by-step planting instructions, such as how much sunlight will be needed, and what season are the best planting times. Keeping that in mind, most catalogues will wait and ship these goods so that you receive them during the proper planting time according to what zone you live in.

Gardening catalogues also have all of the equipment you could possibly need for any type of gardening. If you have a hydroponics garden you can order a timed water pump or artificial lighting. You can order pruning shears for shrubs or a gas operated tiller to break up your dirt. Catalogues will give you a large selection of gloves, making it possible to find a pair that is operational and fashionable. Other tools that can be purchased include, but are not limited to, hoes, rakes, spades, shovels, water hoses, and sprinklers.

Gardening catalogues provide gardeners with a wider selection of seeds and plant types than can be found anywhere else. The biggest plus about catalogues is everything is offered to you at once. You can look through what is available and pick and choose what you wish to plant based on the requirements, such as the plants maintenance, time, and climate needs. A gardening catalogue gives you the luxury of viewing every plant type all at once, making it much easier to make a choice.

Gardening catalogues, above all else, are extremely convenient. If you do not live near a nursery or some type of gardening store, it is difficult to find all of the things you need to start and keep a healthy garden. Let’s face it; Wal-Mart does not have everything you need for a garden. Gardening catalogues give you more options and allow you to view everything available at a single setting. Whether you are in the market for seeds or equipment, a gardening catalogue is the only way to go.

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Do It Yourself Gardening - Organic Gardening

Organic gardening is the exact same as regular gardening except that no synthetic fertilizers or pesticides are used. This can make certain aspects difficult, such as controlling disease, insects, and weeds. Organic gardening also requires more attention to the soil and the many needs of plants.

Organic gardening starts with the soil. Gardeners must add organic matter to the soil regularly in order to keep the soil productive. In fact, compost is essential to the healthiness and well being of plants grown organically. Compost can be made from leaves, dead flowers, vegetable scraps, fruit rinds, grass clippings, manure, and many other things. The ideal soil has a dark color, sweet smell, and is full of earthworms. Some soil may need more natural additives than regular compost can give, such as bonemeal, rock phosphates, or greensand. A simple soil test will tell you the pH balance and which nutrients you will need to use.

One thing that makes even gardeners that are very serious about organic gardening reach for pesticides is insects on their plants. The best way to defend plants against insects is to take preventative measures. One thing that can be done is to make sure plants are healthy and not too wet or dry because insects usually attack unhealthy plants and if healthy, they can often outgrow minor insect damage. A variety of plant types is a good idea to keep pests of a particular plant type from taking out the entire garden.

Perhaps the best way to defend against insects is to make your garden enticing to insect predators, such as ladybugs, birds, frogs, and lizards. You can do this by keeping a water source nearby or by growing plants that attract insects who feed on nectar. Other ideas are sticky traps, barriers, and plant collars. There are some household items that prevent against insects too, like insecticidal soaps, garlic, and hot pepper.

To avoid plant disease in organic gardening, choose disease resistant plants and plant them in their prime conditions. Many diseases will spread because of constant moisture and bad air circulation, so the site of your garden and the way it is watered can help ensure against diseases.

Weeds can be an annoying and frustrating part of organic gardening. Organic mulch can act as a weed barrier, but for even better protection put a layer of newspaper, construction paper, or cardboard under the mulch. Corn meal gluten will slow the growth of weeds if spread early in the season before planting, as does solarization. There’s also the old-fashioned art of hoeing and hand pulling that always works. Your best bet in weed prevention is persistence. Mulch well and pull and hoe what you can; after a few seasons you can beat the weeds for good.

Organic gardening is an excellent way to assure that your plants will be free and clear of all pesticides and, if taken care of properly, will be as healthy as possible. Organic gardening may take a little more time and care than regular gardening, but after gardeners get the hang of it and figure out all the quirks of their garden, it is definitely worth the extra time.

DoItYourself-Gardening

Do It Yourself Gardening - Indoor Gardening

A lot of people stick a fake tree in a corner, dust the leaves off every week, and call it indoor gardening, but indoor gardening has grown into much more than that lately. There are also a lot of people that thinks plants belong and should stay inside, but there are many reasons for starting an indoor garden. For instance, plants don’t only remove carbon dioxide from the air, they also remove many poisonous toxins and pollutants as well. Indoor gardening will result in beautiful decoration in your house as well as cleaner air.

When picking out plants for indoor gardening, make sure the plants are adaptable and will be able to thrive in the conditions and setting in your house. Consider how much time you will be able to spend caring for the plants, how much light your house offers, and also how much money you want to spend on your indoor garden. If you are on a low budget, start with seeds or cuttings. If you have a little more money to dish out you can buy a plant that is already grown. Another thing to consider is if you want a plant that can be displayed all year or just for a season. Herb gardens are a good thing for indoor gardening; they are both attractive and edible. They will grow pretty quick and you won’t have to wait a long time to see results. Some popular herbs, especially for cooking, are chives, dill, sage, thyme, and oregano.

When indoor gardening, consider the amount of experience you have before choosing a plant. There are some plants that are stronger and harder to kill and therefore better for a novice gardener. Examples are Fatsia, Cyperus, Scandens, Popular Succulents, Coleus, and Bromeliads.

Some things, such as the basic rules of maintaining plants, are different in indoor gardening that in a regular outdoor setting. Since plants won’t get the sunlight they do outdoors, lighting is essential. You need to know exactly how much light your plants need and pick plants that only need medium to low light, such as ferns or Philodendrons, unless you plan to supply artificial lighting. If you buy a plant already grown, wherever you get it probably has better lighting than your house so you will need to “condition” your plant and gradually reduce the light it receives. Once you get the plant inside, make sure and rotate the plant to encourage upright growth.

Just because you are indoor gardening, don’t think the plants don’t have to have water; they still do. How often you water, once again, depends on what type of plant you have. Make sure the water can drain out of the bottom of the pot and try to use water that is about the same as the temperature of the room. Also pay attention to temperature in your house in order to ensure healthy plants. A 10-15 degree range won’t hurt any plants, but rapid changes could cause damage.

Indoor gardening is not all that difficult; in fact, it is pretty much the same as outdoor. There are even some advantages to indoor gardening. For example, you won’t have to worry as much about bugs and insects bothering your plants. You also won’t have to worry about wind or frost reeking havoc on your garden.


DoItYourself-Gardening

Do It Yourself Gardening - Gardening Products

Because gardening has evolved into such a popular activity, gardening products are not hard to come by. You can buy gardening products in various stores or nurseries, or you can order gardening products from catalogues, or even order them online. Gardening products can range from equipment too fertilize to the actual plant itself.

You will obviously need the basic gardening products no matter what you are planting, such as a hoe, spade, and maybe even a shovel. You must have watering supplies, like a water hose and perhaps a sprinkler. Other possibilities include a spade, a pot (if you are pot planting), and a pair of gloves for comfort, some secuturs, or a rake. When first starting a garden you will definitely want some type of mulch or potting soil to get your dirt ready. There are a few types of potting soil to choose from, including organic potting mix, seed starting potting mix, cactus potting mix, and root development potting mix, just to name a few.

Once you have your garden planted, you must have gardening products so that you can add nutrients to the soil to ensure a healthy plant life. Miracle-Gro is one of the most popular growing enhancements for plants. There are many different types of Miracle-Gro to choose from and what kind you choose will depend on what you are trying to grow. You will also want to add fertilize, such as 10-20-10 or triple 13, depending on the needs of your soil.

If you are growing vegetables or herbs, you may need different gardening products than regular flower gardens require. If you are growing tomatoes you will need a tomato cage and ties to protect the plants against the wind. Many plants, mostly vines, are designed to grow on something and you will have to have a fence or trellis of some sort.

Gardening products are not limited to just the gardening necessities; they can also come in the form of decoration. There are decorative flower pots, sundials, plastic figurines, stones or bricks for a pathway or looks, and even lawn furniture. Decoration will add to the charm and uniqueness of your garden and are an excellent way to give it a personal touch.

The winter months will bring a whole new set of gardening products to store shelves. When the frost hits the prime place to put your plants are in a greenhouse. However, if you do not have a greenhouse for whatever reason, a tarp of some sorts can be used to cover plants up at night. You also might need a light source, like a heat lamp, to both keep plants warm and give them extra light.

New and upgraded gardening products are always popping up on the market. It seems like every day there is some gardening product that claims to be bigger and better than the last. While many gardening products are not a necessity, they sure make the job a lot easier and more enjoyable.

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Do It Yourself Gardening - Japanese Gardening

Japanese gardening is a cultural form of gardening that is meant to produce a scene that mimics nature as much as possible by using trees, shrubs, rocks, sand, artificial hills, ponds, and flowing water as art-forms. The Zen and Shinto traditions are both a large part of Japanese gardening and, because of this; the gardens have a contemplative and reflective state of mind. Japanese gardening is much different than the Western style and most would say it is far more meditational and soul soothing.

In Japanese gardening there are three basic methods for scenery. The first of these is reduced scale. Reduced scale is the art of taking an actual scene from nature, mountains, rivers, trees, and all, and reproducing it on a smaller scale. Symbolization involves generalization and abstraction. An example of this would be using white sand to suggest the ocean. Borrowed views refers to artists that would use something like an ocean a forest as a background, but it would end up becoming an important part of the scene.

There are essentially two types of Japanese gardening: tsukiyami, which is a hill garden and mainly composed of hills and ponds. The other is hiraniwa, which is basically the exact opposite of tsukiyami: a flat garden without any hills or ponds.

The basic elements used in Japanese gardening include rocks, gravel, water, moss, stones, fences, and hedges. Rocks are most often used as centerpieces and bring a presence of spirituality to the garden. According to the Shinto tradition rocks embody the spirits of nature. Gravel is used as a sort of defining surface and is used to imitate the flow of water when arranged properly. Stones are used to create a boundary and are sculpted into the form of lanterns. Water, whether it be in the form of a pond, stream, or waterfall, is an essential part of a Japanese garden. It can be in the actual form of water or portrayed by gravel, but no matter what form water is in, it is crucial to a Japanese gardens balance.

There are several forms and types of plants that are signature of Japanese gardening, the main one being Bonsai. Bonsai is the art of training everyday, average plants, such as Pine, Cypress, Holly, Cedar, Cherry, Maple, and Beech, to look like large, old trees just in miniature form. These trees range from five centimeters to one meter and are kept small by pruning, re-potting, pinching of growth, and wiring the branches.

Japanese gardening is a tradition that has crossed the Muso Soseki, poet, said “Gardens are a root of transformation”. A Japanese garden is sure to bring about many different feelings and is definitely a transforming experience.

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Do It Yourself Gardening - Home Gardening

Do It Yourself Gardening - Feel it and Explore
The Best Way of Gardening Definitely Is Do It by Yourself Gardening. Explore Step by Step Garden Design and Do It Yourself Gardening Advice and Tips

Over the last few years home gardening has become an increasingly popular past-time and hobby. In fact, studies show that home gardening is at an all time high in America right now. In the United States 8 out of 10 households take part in some type of home gardening activity. Obviously from the number of people that are doing it, home gardening is one of the most popular recreational activities in nation.

Most people that try their hand at home gardening plant flowers; at least they start out planting flowers anyway. Roses will probably be the first thought into any gardeners mind, but roses will take extra time and work, and should probably be left to those who have gardened before. When planting flowers many choices are available, such as bulbs, perennials, and annuals.

Edible plants are another big thing in home gardening. Perhaps the best thing about edibles is the reward of eating them. The list of edible plants that gardeners can grow at home is endless. Some of the most common edible plants in the vegetable arena are, potatoes, peas, corn, carrots, squash, and cucumber. Many gardeners opt for fruits, such as, watermelons, tomatoes, peaches, plums, apples, pears, and apricots. Small fruits, such as strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries usually require less work and less space, making them much more feasible for home gardening. Herbs, most often used as spices in cooking, are growing in popularity every day; some of the most grown include basil, thyme, oregano, parsley, and cilantro. One of the most important things to watch for when planting edibles is insects and disease, after all, you don’t want to miss out on the feast you will get to enjoy from healthy plants.

Many people don’t realize it, but landscaping is a form of home gardening. Landscaping covers many different areas and forms of gardening. You can even classify mowing your lawn as landscaping! Keeping in the line of grasses, landscaping nearly always involves decorative grasses, and the great thing about them is they don’t take much work for upkeep. Types of grass include monkey grass, pampas, buffalo grass, flame grass, and ornamental millet. Landscaping is not just limited to plant life, but also includes anything done to a yard for decoration, such as adding rocks or stones, putting a small pond, statutes, or a waterfall.

There isn’t much difference between home gardening and gardening anywhere else. Plants still need to be planted in a good location. The plants still need water and they still need the same nutrients. Home gardening shouldn’t cause anyone to get nervous. If you do decide to try homing gardening and finding out that you don’t have a green thumb, don’t get discouraged. Get some information, read up on gardening, and try it again the next planting season.

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Do It Yourself Gardening - Gardening Advice

Do It Yourself Gardening - Feel it and Explore

Garden advice is not that hard to come by. In fact, you can get gardening advice from another gardener, in a gardening catalogue, gardening books, gardening magazines, and even on the Internet. Although you will have variations with every plant, there is some gardening advice that is universal and that goes for any plant.

For example, the gardening advice given for planting is pretty much uniform. You must place plants where they will have room to grow so they don’t overcrowd each other. Good air flow is a plus, and plants must be in a position where they will receive adequate amounts of sunlight. Advice will always tell you to add some type of nutrients to the soil to lead to better plant growth, such as mulch or compost.

Gardening advice on watering plants is a little more varied, because every type of plant needs different amounts of water. For example, you wouldn’t want to water a cactus near as much as you water a tomato plant. How much you water will obviously also depend on where you live, the climate, and how much rain your area receives.

Gardening advice from nearly every source will tell you that your plants not only need fertilize when you first plant them, they will also needed to be fertilized throughout their growing season. What type of fertilize used will depend on the soil content and pH balance, but fertilize will definitely be needed on most all plants. Compost can be used instead and it is easy to find advice on how to make a compost pile as well as when fertilize and compost needs to be used.

Gardening advice on weeds, insects, disease, and how to get rid of them is probably the most sought after advice in all of gardening. These pests invade all gardens and if you don’t get rid of them, they will take over and ruin your garden. There are many different chemicals and pesticides that can be used, and gardening advice will usually clue gardeners in on which chemicals are better, which are harmful, and which ones are easier to administer.

Gardening is not an easy task; you have to fight against many outside forces, such as weather, insects, disease, and weeds. Even the most seasoned of gardeners will seek out gardening advice once in a while. Who wouldn’t when there are so many forces that could take a garden out? There is a lot of general gardening advice on the market that goes for any plant, but if you look a little harder you will find specific advice for that one plant that is the only one giving you trouble. Gardening advice is relatively easy to find, and while you may come across the occasional bad apple, most of it is relatively sound and will help with any gardening question.


DoItYourself-Gardening