Home Gardening

In the Japanese style of gardening, every centimeter of the plant is precious and taken care of with the help of Japanese gardening tools. This is the main reason behind the breathtaking looks that the Japanese gardens offer. Therefore, if you plan to take care of your garden the Japanese way, you cannot afford to ignore the Japanese Gardening Tools.

Starting with the Japanese methods of gardening, you will require few hand snips, or more precisely the Okatsune hand snips. The detailed pruning that one observes in a Japanese garden cannot be achieved merely with the help of normal snips. The other kinds of tools used are the Japanese style chisels, planes, woodwork tools, and the pull saws. If you are a beginner at the art of gardening, the Japanese gardening may not be the best option. Only once you are comfortable with the normal style of gardening that you should delve into other styles such as Japanese gardening. Whenever you begin with the Japanese gardening, the Japanese gardening tools will play an important role in taking you up on your learning curve.

Before you set out to buy your Japanese gardening tool kit, you must try to learn as much as you can about the Japanese style of gardening. Buying books on the same topic can be a great idea to assess your skills first. You should also give yourself enough room to make mistakes and fix them as you go along. There are different types of Japanese gardens that you can aspire to create. Your purchase of Japanese gardening tools will also be determined by the type of garden you have in mind. You can either opt to work on a Japanese sitting garden that is normally cultivated to create beautiful views from indoors or verandahs, or you can create a Japanese strolling garden if you have ample land to spare. The latter works out best in cases where your family members prefer strolling through gardens to connect to the nature.

If you are in the initial phases of learning, you might want to experiment with a piece of soil rather than going full throttle all over the landscape. Work small for some time and build your skills enough before venturing into larger pastures. Japanese gardening tools will come handy during this phase. Read the instructions on raising specific plants carefully and learn as much as you can through such small plant cultivation. You can try your skills on a small bonsai tree that can be worked upon indoors. You may either opt to raise the bonsai tree right from the scratch or buy a baby plant from the market. Please also lookout for the specific gardening tools for bonsai trees available in the market.

Creating Japanese gardens is a time consuming process, but as we all know Rome was not built in a day, you must keep pressing on. You may not have a real Rome at hand, but a breathtaking Japanese garden is no less challenging!

 

The basics of watering plants

The amount of water a plant needs depends on the type of plant, soil, location and the weather including temperature, humidity, and wind. It is easy to see why plants can be over-watered or under-watered.

Some methods, including hand watering and some sprinklers, make water puddles or run off long before the soil receives as much water as it needs. Many gardeners stop watering when the soil surface becomes soggy or when water starts to puddle or run off. This practice only wets the top few inches of soil. Because the rate of water absorption into the soil is slow, it may take several hours or days to wet some types of soil 3 – 4 inches deep. To water deeply and prevent run off, apply water at the same rate at which it enters the soil. If your irrigation system cannot be adjusted to apply water slowly, water until run off begins, stop watering for about an hour, then water again, until the soil has been wetted as deeply as necessary.

Each time you water, apply enough to wet the soil to the bottom of the root zone. Water is measured in inches. If a tin can is placed on a lawn when the sprinklers are turned on, the soil receives an inch of water when the water in the container is one inch deep.

There are two primary variables involved in watering plants: how much and when. There are many ways of knowing when to water, some of which are very sophisticated. Here is one of the simplest and easiest to learn.

First, dig a hole into the root zone of the plant, from 2 – 6 inches deep. In loose soil you can dig a hole with your finger; otherwise, use a trowel or a shovel. Second, feel the soil in the hole. Dig a new hole each time you check. When the soil reaches a certain level of dryness, it is time to water again.

When watering container plants, apply enough water so that some drains from the bottom. Drainage water should flow freely away from the container so that water does not collect around the base. If the container is sitting in a saucer, wait for all the water to drain through (10 – 15 minutes), and then empty the water from the saucer. Sometimes the drainage holes become blocked and water accumulates inside the container rather than flowing out. Make sure the container drains after watering. If not, poke a stick in the drainage hole to loosen compacted soil. Water again when the soil just below the surface is barely moist.

In large containers (10 – 12 inches or more), water when the soil 1 -2 inches below the surface is barely moist. Plants in containers without drainage holes are difficult to water properly. Water accumulates in the bottom of the container, causing root rot. If the soil in the container becomes too dry, it may be difficult to re-wet. Instead of penetrating the soil, the water runs down inside the edge of the container and immediately drains out the bottom. To wet the soil, soak the container in a tub or sink full of water for a few hours. The rim of the container should be submerged.

 

 

 

Organic Gardening For: Beginners

Organic gardening will give you peace of mind and a great sense of satisfaction when you and your family sits down to eat. Imagine the sense of excitement you’ll get when you first see those little green shoots peering through the soil!

So What Is Organic Gardening?

Many gardeners wonder what exactly organic growing means. The simple answer is that organic gardeners don’t use synthetic fertilizers or pesticides on their plants. Think natural!

Organic gardening is using recycled materials to grow crops. You can and should use animal waste, kitchen scraps, and vegetable waste to mulch and compost. Common household items like vinegar and soap are used to prevent pests and weeds.

Organic growing is the working together of nature. Using naturally cultivated soil to grow natures seed.

Planning Your Organic Garden

Choose where to plant your garden. Ideally you want an area that will get plenty of light and be protected from the wind.

How big do you want your plot to be? Don’t start off too big – you want to enjoy your gardening not resent how time consuming it can quickly become if you start off too grand!

Draw a scale plan of your gardening area and work out how much of each crop your going to use and where to plant them. Think “groups” rather than rows as they are more productive and easier to attend to.

Getting The Soil Ready For Your Organic Growing Plot

You need to look into testing your soil before you begin. Tests are available from your local gardening center. Good soil should be pleasant to the touch, eye and nose. Once you are satisfied with your soil you can begin.

Planting In Your Organic Garden

Your going to be best served growing from the seed rather than buying plants as they could have been sprayed with pesticides at some point. Also you’ll feel a lot more like a gardener using seeds! Obviously patience is needed to grow from the seed.

Weeding Your Organic Garden

Use a hoe to stop weeds developing into large competitive monsters to your plants! Just simply dig around your crops with a hoe once a week or so.

Once your crop seedlings are larger, the soil is warm and drenching rains have ended, put down a layer of mulch to hold in moisture and smother weeds. Mulch is material that can be laid down around the plants to control weeds.

Pests In Your Garden?

Don’t despair at the sight of insects on and around your crops! To start with just have a watch of them and see if they are actually causing damage. A lot of bugs will just nibble small enough amounts that good healthy plants can resist and recover from, so don’t be too hasty!

Creating Compost For Your Organic Garden

So what are the benefits of compost? It should be used as mulch to reduce evaporation, reduce weed growth, insulate the soil from extreme temperature and keep soil cooler in the day and warmer at night time!

Good compost should be made up of balanced materials. It should be balanced between carbon materials – washed egg shells, milled grains, dried grass, straw and leaves. And nitrogen materials – most kitchen scraps, fresh grass and other plant matter.

David Stuart

www.organicgardening4u.com