HowToDoThings.com Recent Gardening Fundamentals Articles

How To Make Soil Acidic for Plants

gonzo — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 14:37:20 -0600

Acidic soil has a pH lower than 7.0 and is beneficial for the growth of plants such as blueberries, blackberries, rhododendrons and weeping willows. When taking care of plants you may need to adjust the balance of acid or alkaline to provide the plants with the best soil for their growth. If you need to make soil acidic for your plants, there are several options. Follow these steps to make the soil more acidic.

How To Know What Fertilizers are Best for Your Garden

jim_kennard — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 13:01:10 -0600

Recently I was told by a woman trying to grow a family garden,that they had been warned away from using any commercial fertilizers, like 16-16-16, because they are chemical, and therefore harmful to the garden, to plants, and to the people who eat them. My response was that someone was seriously pulling her leg. Here is the simple truth about fertilizers:

How To Plant and Care for Carrots, Parsnips, and Other Small Seeded Vegetables

jim_kennard — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 15:05:50 -0600

How To Have a Great Garden in 8 Steps

jim_kennard — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 14:29:40 -0600

Choose the location and prepare the soil.
1. Direct sunlight all day long is essential for fruiting crops.
2. Locate a water source near the garden for easy watering.
3. Level ground - slight Southern slope is okay.
4. Clean ground - remove rocks and weeds - annual and perennial.
5. Outline perimeter of garden with stakes and string.
6. Fence to protect against intruders.
Create soil-beds - a nursery - in which to grow plants.
1. Measure and stake beds 18", and aisles 3 1/2'.
2. Outline growing beds by tying strings to stakes.
3. Till aisles 2" deep, then pull soil from aisles to beds.
4. Level beds by moving soil from high to low end.
5. Apply fertilizer - pre-plant and weekly feed - to beds.
  
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How To Do Vermicomposting

Fluffymuppet — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 09:12:08 -0500

How To Compost in Winter

Fluffymuppet — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 08:59:15 -0500

Composting is, in part, a temperature-dependent process. But that doesn't mean that you have to stop composting in winter. How you keep your compost going depends on what sort of composting you do.

How To Create a Water Feature

pondlady — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 14:05:31 -0500

How To Use Eggshells to Deter Cutworms

melhow36 — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 07:30:39 -0500

How To Plant a Winter Garden

Alice Bowe — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 19:14:17 -0500

How To Have an Easy Shade Garden

cutgarden — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 19:18:18 -0500

How To Create a Moonlight Garden

Alice Bowe — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 12:56:09 -0500

How To Keep Cats out of Flower Beds

vneely — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 15:10:41 -0500

How To Transplant a Tree

vneely — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 14:59:24 -0500

How To Do Gardening Science Fair Projects

bronwyn — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 17:53:35 -0600

Gardening science fair projects can be both fun and educational for children – especially for those who may have no experience with growing plants. There are endless possibilities in terms of gardening science fair projects, and most of them can be easily adapted to fit the needs of different ages.

How To Plan a Garden for Kids

bronwyn — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 12:02:24 -0600

Gardening is a wonderful introduction to science and nature. If you are looking for a special way to spend time with a child in your life, think about planning a garden for kids. The garden can be big or small; the point is to have fun, spend time outdoors, and introduce children to gardening!

How To Grow Plants in the Classroom

bronwyn — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 11:55:16 -0600

Growing plants in the classroom is an excellent way to get students excited about science!

How To Compost with Coffee

Fluffymuppet — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 12:21:52 -0600

Maybe you're one of many people trying to reduce the amount of trash you produce. Maybe you're wondering why your local coffee shop is giving away its waste coffee grounds to gardeners. Or maybe you're just looking for a free source of fertility for your garden. The answer to all three is that coffee grounds are easy to use in the garden, to make compost or as plant food.

How To Grow Your Own Coffee

bobderry — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 00:30:34 -0600

Growing your own coffee at home can have a number of benefits. First is the free coffee angle. A mature plant can produce as much as two to four pounds of coffee per year. Second, are their fragrant flowers. Some say the aroma resembles jasmine. However, not to be dismissed are the health benefits of sharing your home with Coffea Arabica. Each plant converts your exhaled CO2 into about one ounce of oxygen per day. This, in effect, will help to offset your personal carbon footprint! So you can counteract rain forest destruction, improve the air quality in your home, reap the social creds of being green and get a free cup of coffee to boot!

How To Reuse Coffee Grounds: The Top 10 Alternate Uses

Casey47 — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 14:50:58 -0600

According to CBS News, "More than 50 percent of Americans drink coffee everyday — three to four cups each, more than 330 million cups a day and counting." If you are reading this article, you most likely fall within that 50 percent. Now that all the coffee is accounted for, what about those leftover grounds? They often sit until the next morning in the coffee maker, and then it's off to the trash with them! What if... just what if you took those coffee grounds and made use of them? What if you incorporated them into your everyday life?

How To Buy Plants

Fluffymuppet — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 13:49:46 -0600

Most gardeners love growing their own plants from seed, or swapping plants and cuttings with gardening friends. But there are occasions when you might want to buy a new plant for your garden. Maybe you don't have the space to grow all your own plants from seed, you only want a couple of plants, or you want something that isn't easily grown from seed. Perhaps you want a particular variety that is only available as a plant, or you want a head start on a plant that's very slow to mature.

If you buy a plant from the garden center, how do you make sure that you're getting a good one? And if you order your plants online or from a mail order catalog, how do you take care of them when they arrive?

How To Choose Plants Kids Will Love to Grow in Their Classroom Project

Casey47 — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 12:35:28 -0600

Growing a garden with your students can be a fun and rewarding task for you and for the children. The importance to gardening with children is to keep their attention at all times. I know as a child if my outdoor experimental garden did not grow I was tremendously discouraged and gave up quickly. Children are like that, easily distracted and discouraged. They want to see results, often times faster than we can produce them. No matter how much you explain, this attitude will be the same for gardening.

How To Get Started with a School Garden Project

Casey47 — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 11:58:53 -0600

A classroom gardening project can be a fun and wonderful learning experience for you and your students. It is also something the entire school can become involved in, if organized properly. Gardening shows children the cycle of life, as well as where a lot of their fruits and vegetables come from. It is something they can become involved in and will hopefully give them a sense of pride in what they have created. It may even open up a life time of love for growing flowers and vegetables.

There are several things to consider when you are organizing a gardening project for a classroom or school. This article will go through all the things to consider, and the necessary steps you will need to take.

How To Grow Mustard and Cress

Fluffymuppet — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 11:21:06 -0600

If it's the middle of winter and there's nothing much going on in the vegetable garden, or you want some easy and ultra-fresh salad greens, or a rainy day project to help keep the kids occupied, then try growing mustard and cress!

How To Make Comfrey Fertilizer

Fluffymuppet — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 14:59:52 -0600

Comfrey is a very valuable plant to have in an organic garden, because it grows very vigorously and can be used to feed other plants. Comfrey has very deep roots that bring up nutrients from the subsoil, which are then stored in the leaves. Comfrey leaves can be used as a nutritious mulch or compost activator, but they can also be turned into a free fertilizer for your tomatoes and other fruiting plants.

How To Create a New Garden Bed Without Digging

Fluffymuppet — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 12:58:37 -0500

Sheet mulching is an easy way to create a new garden bed that mimics the way nature does things. By covering the ground with biodegradable material, you improve the soil quality and kill weeds without having to dig or use harmful chemicals.

How To Use Green Manures

Fluffymuppet — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 12:26:33 -0500

Green manures are plants that are grown to improve the soil, usually in organic gardens. Where there is new ground to bring into cultivation, or where soil is to be left bare for more than a few weeks, green manures are well worth considering. Green manures can suppress weed growth, prevent nutrient loss and soil erosion, improve the soil structure and add fertility to the soil.

How To Choose a Green Manure

Fluffymuppet — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 12:26:24 -0500

Green manures are plants that are grown to benefit the soil, usually in organic gardens. There are many to choose from, and many factors to consider when choosing the right plant to grow in your situation.

How To Make Leaf Mold

Fluffymuppet — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 14:40:21 -0500

Falling leaves can bleach a lawn, foul a pond and make garden paths slippery and hazardous. Collecting them up is a fall gardening task in many gardens. Once they have been collected then it's just a short step to making leaf mold -- a wonderful soil improver for the organic garden.

Collect your leaves. Whether you use a leaf blower or just a rake, the first step to making leaf mold is to collect your leaves. If you have leaves on the lawn, try running the mower over them on its highest cut setting -- it will collect them in the grass hopper and chop them up for you at the same time.

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How To Grow Disease-Free Roses

Mike342 — Wed, 13 Jun 2007 15:56:13 -0500

Many gardeners unnecessarily fear growing their favorite flower. Yes, roses do have a reputation for being disease-prone, but it’s often more the gardener’s fault when the poor posies come down with the horticultural sniffles. Here’s how to keep black spot, mildew and other rose diseases at bay.

Plant to Prevent! Always locate roses in open, un-crowded areas where the plants will get lots of airflow. That means not right up against a house or other structure, and not in an area where shrubs are blocking the flow of air through the landscape.
Morning Sun is #1! Roses MUST be positioned where they will receive the very first rays of the morning sun. A little afternoon shade is fine—and even preferred as we move into hotter regions, but the plants must get that early sun to dry off the morning dew as soon as possible. Roses that have to wait until 11am or noon to dry off will never be healthy.

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How To Water Your Lawn and Garden Correctly

Mike342 — Wed, 13 Jun 2007 15:50:53 -0500

The two most basic rules of watering are very simple: Never water ANYTHING in the evening or at the height of the day.

Morning is ALWAYS Right. Plants are most receptive to water at this time of day, because their cells are ‘opening up’ to accept the morning dew through their leaves. (This is why foliar feeding, when you spray something like compost tea directly on plants to feed them, should only be done in the early morning). The plants’ roots are also most receptive to water in the morning, and will utilize any moisture you provide with the utmost efficiency.

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How To Buy Garden Accessories

Tonya249 — Wed, 27 Sep 2006 19:13:00 -0500

As any gardener knows, the plants are the most important part of a garden, but they're not the only part. Garden accessories give your garden character, add interest, and can even be functional. Just look at any of Claude Monet's paintings of his gardens at Giverny. Would they be as beautiful without the bridge arching over the pond or the picturesque iron bench inviting you to rest alongside the path? Whether you have several acres of gardens, or just a small flower patch in your backyard, adding a few accessories will make the space yours.

How To Care for Your Lawn

Mike342 — Tue, 06 Jun 2006 09:24:00 -0500

Chemical lawn care is a ruse, a marketing scheme. Grass, as all gardeners know, is a tenacious weed that needs little help to be healthy. But Americans weaken their lawns with unnecessary chemicals, harsh fertilizing salts and improper cutting and watering. Grow the right grass at the right height and you will be amazed at how easy-care a great expanse of green can be.

Plant the right grass.

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How To Choose a Hose

Tonya249 — Sun, 04 Jun 2006 11:25:00 -0500

All garden hoses are basically the same, right? They're just a circular length of rubber that carries water from point A to point B. Well, that's true to a certain extent, but there are also many differences. If you are planning to purchase a new garden hose, here are some points to aid in the search:

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How To Build a Compost Bin

Tonya249 — Sun, 21 May 2006 11:12:00 -0500

Composting is the process of breaking down waste into a nutrient-rich topsoil. This soil can cure a host of maladies in your garden. If you have a problem with pests attacking your plants, compost can make them healthier so that they can fight off infestations more easily. If your soil structure is very sandy, compost can give it structure. It can also improve clay soil by breaking it down into smaller particles. Compost can replace the nutrients that have been stripped from your soil by years of gardening. So, with all of these benefits, you can't wait to start composting, right? Here's what you'll need to know.

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How To Buy Garden Hoses

Victoria116 — Tue, 18 Apr 2006 02:44:00 -0500

Any home owner that has a yard will most likely want to have a garden hose as one of their home maintenance accessories. In fact, if your yard has a flower or vegetable garden - or just plain grass - a garden hose is a necessity. Here are some tips on how to buy a garden hose:

Determine your needs. There are three things to be aware of when buying a garden hose: the hose diameter, length, and quality. These three components will dictate the price you pay. Ask yourself a few questions before you go shopping for a hose. Do you need a hose that will run the entire length of your yard? Will you be using the hose on a daily basis for watering flowers or shrubbery? Do you have more than one outdoor water spigot?

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How To Make Compost

Wendy118 — Sat, 08 Apr 2006 12:36:00 -0500

Composting is a quick way to recycle kitchen and garden waste. Composting simply speeds up the decay of organic matter by using air, moisture and heat as tools. Compost can be used when sheet mulching or as an additive to your garden or potting soil.

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