Materials Used for Composting

Contrary to the thought that composting is hard, it's as easy as 1,2,3.....You just need to have the right ingredients in order to have the right nutrients for the plants to grow.

Kitchen Items You can Use to Kill Weeds Organically

You will be surprised that vinegar has tons of other uses besides dressing salads, disinfecting, and as a tonic to losing weight. When it comes to gardening,

Weeds Week: The "Unfriendly" Morning Glory Weed

photo from shutterstock.com

You see those morning glory vines trailing so freely up on trellises or pergolas? Beautiful aren't they? But what I am about to tackle this time is not the type of morning glory vine that brightens up anyone's day upon seeing its blooms open up at sunrise. It is its nasty vine weed cousin- the bindweed or the morning glory weed. 

photo from soilcropandmore.info

Living in Victoria has made me notice this handful of a weed. After cutting its stem and its roots, just after a few days you will find them growing back again- and spreading! They are just as menacing as the dandelions in the prairies. You will have to weed them out over and over again until you finally manage to greatly reduce their numbers.


But is there another way of getting rid of the morning glory weed? Yes there is!


For the morning glory weed to flourish, it has to have an unrestricted area to grow and spread. This is where the morning glory weed's weakness lies- it despises crowd.


Therefore, if you find the morning glory weed creeping along a bald patch of soil, fill that area up with plants that are suited for the location.If the area is somewhere in the lawn, cover it with landscaping grass of your choice. You have to literally be on top of the competition. Once the morning glory weed is overcrowded, it loses its capacity to outgrow every plant that gets in its way.


And again...MULCH!


Mulching a bald area will work the same way as filling it in with ornamental plants. Mulch will restrict the sunlight from shining on exposed weed seeds and deprive it of sunshine as well as moisture. Pretty soon, it will rot and die. 

Weeds Week: Eliminate Dandelions the Organic Way

Dandelions like to grow in acidic soil, a pH of around 6.9 and lower. Once this nuisance of a plant will find a home in your lovely garden, it means war!

photo from naturewatch.ca

When I worked for a few months in the city of Regina, Saskatchewan, during summer time I noticed the huge dandelion blooms and 'seed heads' everywhere floating in the summer breeze. I once visited a friend who was busying herself with a dandelion remover. I told her that it is impossible to control the dandelions from invading her pretty little lawn for there were an 'umpteen' of the pesky puffballs already thriving in her garden. Plus, I observed her neighbor's lawn to be occupied with dandelions as well. You know what they say about dandelions, "if your neighbor has it, then expect it will come to you too." Luckily for me that time, I rented an apartment at a tenth floor so I just had a small container garden then and "0" dandelions.


Enough chit-chat, let's get to the nitty gritty details, how do we eradicate dandelions?


First and foremost, one should be aware that this weed has a strong taproot system (with several secondary roots branching out). The roots help the entire plant to anchor firmly in the ground. Once the weed is established in the soil, it then rapidly grows and flowers in early summer to late summer, and then produce seeds come fall. Unlike other plants, dandelions do not need the help of pollination to reproduce seeds. In fact, a dandelion reproduce through asexual means which explains why it spreads like wildfire.The seeds are attached to a parachute tail which assists in propagation.


TIP 1 - Controlling in Numbers


If your lawn is infested with dandelions, then I suggest you should secure:

photo from coolpics1234.blogspot.com

1) a dark colored tarp
2) heavy stones
3) hot, boiling water


Pour boiling, hot water over the weeds and it will eradicate all parts of the dandelion down to its root level. Be careful not to pour the water on nearby plants or it will be damaged as well.


Cover the area with your dark tarp and secure the edges with the rocks. Lack of sunshine will disrupt the photosynthesis of the dandelion and will eventually kill it.


TIP 2 - Mowing Away


When dandelions are competing against your turf grasses and you want to eradicate them, use a lawnmower. Mow at the time when dandelions have not yet started to produce flower buds. Set your lawnmower at high to exclude cutting the grasses. Constant cutting of the leaves of this weed will also hamper its ability to make food and thus inevitably eliminate it from your garden. Dispose all the clippings in a sealed plastic bag before dumping it a compost bin to prevent the weed from reproducing.


TIP 3 - Dig Out


Do this tip only if the soil is moist and there are a few dandelions in your garden. Using a shovel or a garden knife, dig out the dandelion all the way to its roots. Use the tool as a lever to uproot the whole plant system.

Prepare for Spring and your Garden will Thank you

Colorful_spring_garden.jpg

As I start to see a snowdrop popping out from anyone’s garden and even on boulevards, I know that spring time will be here soon. Living in Victoria, British Columbia has its rewards. While the rest of the prairies and the maritime areas continue to wallow in chilly winter weather, around here rhododendrons and pansies are already showing off their pretty colors. Although spring is starting to release its blessings over the garden, there is still much to do before anyone is fully ready to welcome spring in the garden.

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When all the snow has melted, this is actually the perfect time when you can see the whole outline of your garden since there are areas that are almost devoid of plants. This is the right time to remodel your patio or maybe brighten up one small corner in the yard.

Some people dig through their garden tools and equipment and check on every piece which needed to be polished or sharpened. In wintertime metal tools can collect dust and rust rendering it inefficient when being used for gardening. One can maintain the sharpness and the polished look of his tools by mixing any motor oil with equal parts of builder’s sand. Rub this on the tools and then wipe it with a dry cloth. It’s that easy.

Lawnmowers also benefit from regular upkeep like inspection of its oil level and the sharpness and overall condition of its blades. Also check your irrigation systems (garden hose, fountains etcetera) for they may contain any insects inside which sought shelter from the cold. Check if there are holes that might cause leakages in the future which results to an increase in your water bill.

Once all signs of winter are gone, you can now till the soil and perform amendments to enrich it. Cultivating the soil enables air to go into it and circulate it around the plants’ roots which is beneficial for their growth. Fertilize your shrubs and trees with slow-release fertilizers. As the ground further warms up, the fertilizers will also continue to provide food for your plants for a bountiful blooming season in spring.

Adding compost to the garden is even a clever idea. It fattens up the soil with already dead organic matter making the garden more rich and further promotes plants’ health.

Grab your handy shears and cut back on any dead branches and leaves present in your plants. Be careful not to cut all the plant parts, stem, roots and everything especially if you are in doubt if the one plant you are cutting is a perennial or annual. You might end up losing one of your prized flowers!

Rake up any spent leaves and other debris collected during the winter months and do some weeding. Keep in mind that weeding is not a one-time task but doing it when the ground is bare will easily help you spot the weeds from the plants. Weeding this early will also make your lawn and gardens alive with healthy plants and soil.

Unless there are many dead stems and damaged branches because of the previous frost, it is not advisable to prune certain shrubs and trees as this may affect their blooming or fruiting come middle of spring to summer. Most fruit trees usually need pruning before any new shoot emerges.

As your garden slowly awakens from its winter slumber, check for obvious bleak spaces that need filling up with colorful annuals or hardy fall bulbs to spark things up the coming year.

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Yard Care in Fall

Fall is here again. The trees look like they are celebrating with their display of assorted colors. With hues of reds, yellows and oranges, everywhere around you is a spectacular display of nature. Then the leaves start to fall on the ground. Then they need to be raked and dumped- common chores that every house owner does, unless of course you are renting a condo where it is then up to the management to clean them...

But actually...Fall is a great time for doing yard care.

It is the proper time where you can rake the leaves, cut off dead branches and do some pruning of your shrubs. The importance of a fall yard cleanup is to get rid of diseased branches and leaves that may carry with them mold and fungi which are harmful to your plants and trees.

And...it does not mean that because it is Fall, one has to only do yard work and cleanups..This is the perfect time of the year to plan your garden in preparation for spring. Since the yard is bare from all the raking and the harvesting of crops in your garden, the ground layout is very visible and this will help you properly lay out your spring and summer garden.

You can start digging the soil and add some compost to put in some nutrients. You can collect the dead leaves and branches (make sure they are healthy and absent of pests and diseases) and gather them in preparation for another compost heap.

You can also do fall gardening and put in plants that like to thrive in cooler temperatures of fall and spring. This is the time to get your tools and bury fall bulbs of tulips, amaryllis, snowdrops, daffodils, crocuses..and many more flower bulbs that later on grow and bloom in spring.

Some ornamental grasses also like to flourish in fall. Chrysanthemums are a great addition to your fall garden! These flowers love to bloom in the fall to show off their shades of white, purple, yellow, red, orange and even mixed colors. They love to grow in full sun but in cooler conditions.

The greatest thing about fall apart from yard cleanup, is to the colors that autumn brings while at the same time you get to enjoy your landscape.

Don't Just Cut Away! Know When to Prune

Pruning is an important factor in a growing shrub or tree. However, unnecessary and untimely cutting of branches and stems will lessen or halt its flowering season. Know the right time when pruning various flowering shrubs and trees. This will ensure a healthy, attractive and vigorous growth of your plants.

photo from gardeninginfozone.com

There are two types of shrubs and these are deciduous and evergreen shrubs. Both these types have specific time of pruning.

Deciduous shrubs. This type opens up its buds in spring and throughout the summer and fall season, then go dormant in the wintertime and then new growth appears again in spring.

• Spring-blooming shrubs. They flower in the spring from the season's previous growth. Pruning these shrubs largely depend on their appearance and growth. When you notice the shrub's growth to be unwieldy, it is best to prune it during late winter to start of spring (April-May). Prune back as far 1/4 to 1/2 of the previous growth. Although heavy pruning may result to reduced flowers, the whole plant will experience beneficial long term effects of pruning. Examples are forsythia and lilac.

• Summer-blooming shrubs. These shrubs that bloom in summer (like spirea and potentilla) can be pruned the same time as the spring-flowering shrubs. Prune in late winter to early spring and you will still be rewarded with a profuse blooming season in summer. NEVER prune the summer-flowering shrubs in late summer (July  to August) because it will lead to delayed growth and flowering. The plant will also be prone to winter damage.

Evergreen Shrubs. These shrubs stay green for the whole season. Taking care of these shrubs is done through cutting back its branches in early spring from March to April before they start to open new growth buds. Yew and Juniper are one of the examples of evergreen shrubs and they are commonly used as hedges. Prune these shrubs lightly in summertime for a neat appearance.

Deciduous Trees. The best time to prune deciduous trees is from February to March just before they open up foliage. Maple varieties will tend to bleed its sap when pruned in late winter to early spring, but don't be alarmed- the bleeding will gradually stop. Oaks are especially best to prune around February and March. Pruning oak trees around April to July will attract sap-drinking beetles harboring the oak wilt fungus and this will damage the oak.

Fruit-bearing Trees. The proper time to prune fruit trees is between February to the start of April to avoid the plant from getting injured from the freezing winter temperatures.