Soda Bottle Seed Starter

Read at : Danny Lipford

http://garden.dannylipford.com/home-improvement-video/soda-bottle-seed-starter/

Video, Lawn and Garden, Container Gardens, Gardening Basics
Published 07/21/2006 by Danny Lipford

Looking for a place to start your seeds? How about in 2-liter plastic bottles? To keep the roots from being exposed to direct sunlight use colored bottles. Measure up 6-inches from the bottom of a 2-liter bottle and make a mark. Placing a rubber band around the bottle on your mark and using it as a guide will ensure an even cut. Cut along the rubber band and detach the top of the bottle. Make a 2 ½” cut in the top piece so that it can be compressed and inserted into the bottom part of the bottle. Invert the top piece into the bottom so the spout becomes a drain Fill the part of the bottle that has the spout with potting mix, and plant your seeds. You might want to insert a piece of paper towel or mesh before you add your potting mix so that the soil does not wash away.

Egg Planting

Read at : Danny Lipford

http://garden.dannylipford.com/category/diy-home-improvement/lawn-and-gardening/container-gardens/

Container Gardens

Video, Lawn and Garden, Container Gardens, Gardening Basics Published 03/07/2007 by Tricia Craven Worley

Starting your own plants from seed is a great idea and here’s a trick for simplifying the process of transplanting them to the garden. Save your old eggshells and situate the empty half shells in an egg carton.

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Painting Clay Pots

Video, Lawn and Garden, Painting, Container Gardens, Houseplants Published 12/12/2006 by Danny Lipford

For a quick and easy way to paint clay pots give them a spin! Before you begin, you’ll need to cut a wooden disk with a hole saw. Place a carriage bolt in a drill (one with a speed adjustment knob works best) and attach the wooden disk on top of the bolt.

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Humidity Helper

Video, Lawn and Garden, Container Gardens, Gardening Basics, Houseplants Published 12/02/2006 by Danny Lipford

A good way to increase humidity around potted seedlings is to set a couple of seedling pots in a larger container of pebbles. The pebbles should be about fingernail size, and there should be just a small amount of water in the pebble container- enough to create humid conditions but not enough to touch the bottom of the pots.

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Plant with Care

Video, Lawn and Garden, Container Gardens, Gardening Basics Published 11/23/2006 by Danny Lipford

Helping your plants make the transition from the pots or containers you buy them in to the garden is an important step to developing a healthy landscape. Begin by digging a hole large enough to accommodate the plant, its root ball and some additional material.

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Mossy Pots

Video, Lawn and Garden, Container Gardens, Houseplants Published 11/07/2006 by Danny Lipford

Moss covered planting pots can give your garden an old world charm. But if you live in a dry climate you may be out of luck. Here’s a trick to help out Mother Nature.

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Soda Bottle Seed Starter

Video, Lawn and Garden, Container Gardens, Gardening Basics Published 07/21/2006 by Danny Lipford

Looking for a place to start your seeds? How about in 2-liter plastic bottles? To keep the roots from being exposed to direct sunlight use colored bottles. Measure up 6-inches from the bottom of a 2-liter bottle and make a mark.

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Patio Table Planter

Video, Lawn and Garden, Container Gardens, Furniture & Accessories Published 07/02/2006 by Danny Lipford

Take an old angel food cake pan and cut it about an inch from the top of the center tube and rolled edges. Slip the umbrella pole of your patio table through the angel food cake pan. The container can then be filled with fresh plants.

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Planning and Design

Read at : Google Alert - drought

http://garden.dannylipford.com/diy-home-improvement/lawn-and-gardening/xeriscape-for-drought-tolerant-landscaping/

Xeriscape for Drought-Tolerant Landscaping

Published 07/08/2008 by Julie Day

In our changing climate, water is becoming a precious resource. For many communities, municipal water restrictions are now commonplace, requiring innovative approaches to landscaping and gardening. One solution is xeriscaping, derived from the Greek word for “dry,” which employs drought resistant plants and water conservation measures to limit the use of irrigation in landscaping. Xeriscapes do not follow a specific design but apply a set of principles to determine the most efficient and pleasing layout based on the climate and topography.

gardening in tires

Read at : Google Alert - gardening

http://greenzonegarden.wordpress.com/2008/07/07/gardening-in-tires/

Why tires? First off, they’re easy to come by; mine came from an Earth Day cleanup and from my car (after a pothole ripped a hole in one tire). In fact, people keep offering me tires, leaving me tires, etc. I say, “Start your own tire garden! Tires are a traditional gardening container in the US and worldwide, especially in developing countries. Tire gardens can be found in rural, in suburban, and in urban America, and all over the world…see examples in Guatemala, Burkina Faso, El Salvador, Mexico, Kenya, Trinidad & Tobago, and more.

Read at : Google Alert - gardening

http://www.gardening-resources.com/indoor-gardening/

Getting started with 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.

Read at : Google Alert - gardening

http://www.4029tv.com/news/16815479/detail.html

More People Picking Up Gardening Due To Food Costs, Recalls

As more and more food recalls make headlines, local extension offices have reported getting more calls from people who want to know how to start a garden of their own. Gardeners who already have a vegetable patch in their back yard said they’re glad they put down seeds back in the spring. They know exactly where their veggies are coming from and what’s been put on the plants.

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Read at : Dave’s Garden Weekly Newsletter

Dave’s Garden <admin@davesgarden.com>

http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/1292/?utm_source=nl_2008-07-07&utm_medium=email

It all starts in a seed

By Jean-Jacques Segalen (jjacques)
July 6, 2008

Flowers, fruits, trees, bushes, vines, this is usually what you see when walking out in the garden but where do they rise from? What is tiny, rounded, inconspicuous and often poorly considered but which is also absolutely necessary to plants and gardens? Seeds of course and there is no point in arguing on the hen and egg question, seeds are the basis of it all! This matter now set let us get to today’s menu, so what is a seed? Technically speaking it is the result of the sexual propagation of superior plants, the meeting of male gametes contained in the pollen grain and female gametes hidden in the ovule. And this is indeed the sole reason for flowers to bloom, species preservation, sorry for the romantic part (which is an important ingredient of life for us French!) but flowers are not meant just to be offered to your charming lady neighbour, they are here for propagation and will go to any length to achieve this.

Water-Smart Gardening (Part Two)

Read at : Google Alert - gardening

http://blog.mlive.com/fullbloom/2008/07/watersmart_gardening_part_two.html

Posted by Monica Milla July 05, 2008

Water-smart gardens aren’t just for the desert. Jupiter’s beard (pink) and salvia (purple) are perfect low-water plants, as are bee balm (top far-left, not yet blooming), blue fescue grass (bottom right), and liatris (top center-left, not yet blooming).

Although some desert plants do flourish in Michigan (such as prickly pear cactus and some species of yucca), they are not the only low-water plants available for Midwest gardens. On the contrary, many common perennial plants do quite well without routine watering or fertilizing.

Dirt cheap ways to save big on gardening

Read at : Google Alert - gardening

http://blog.mlive.com/chronicle/2008/07/dirt_cheap_ways_to_save_big_on.html

Posted by Dean Fosdick with Chronicle News Service reports
July 05, 2008

Turn would-be trash into garden art. Baskets on this old bicycle make an unusual planter. Recycled containers, appliances and conveyances — things like barrels, boots and bicycles — make whimsical additions to flower beds.

My farm-reared grandmother used to say, “Prune spending, and you’ll harvest dollars.”

That bit of advice endures as a practical approach to gardening in this period of fast-rising fuel and food costs. There are scores of low-cost, no-cost steps you can take that will keep your garden just as attractive and productive as the more expensive versions scattered around the neighborhood. Here are some cost-saving tips:

Starting a DIY Vertical Garden

Read at : Google Alert - gardening

http://www.gardeningtipsnideas.com/2008/07/starting_a_diy_vertical_garden.html

Ever since coming across Patrick Blanc’s vertical garden I’ve been interested to observe how this technology might transform the home gardening scene. I mean, it’s only a matter of time before we begin running out room for gardens to grow on a horizontal plane. Yet vertical - that’s another dimension altogether. For most home gardeners the concept isn’t a new one. We’ve been staking tomato plants, espaliering fruit trees and training creepers to grow over undesirable fences for aeons. Yet the thinking behind vertical gardens still seems radically new. The reason: Whereas all our other vertical gardening exploits centred around plants being grounded in the soil, the vertical garden has absolutely no dependency on the ground. In fact, vertical gardens exist quite separately from soil and do so with inanimate ease.