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Chicken Soup for the Soil
Keeping Your Soil Healthy Your soil is the most important part of your garden, but too many people forget to nurture their soil. Soil is a living thing, containing...read more on organic gardening
Everyone Needs A Spaghetti Garden
One of the delightful pleasures of life are herbs. Besides adding beauty to your garden they make foods taste better and provide a pleasant scent to the air we breathe. In...read more on organic gardening
Seven Gardening By the Yard Tips
If you have a tiny yard and would like a simple but
well-maintained garden, you only need two things - determination
and know-how. Here are some tips on how to keep your...read more on organic gardening
Planting Pine and Spruce Trees
Spruce and pine trees are fairly easy to plant because they are
fairly rugged and durable. Yet to plant or transplant them you
do need to follow some basic guidelines.
...read more on organic gardening
Lawn Care Tips
You are welcome to use this article on your website or in your newsletter as long as you reprint it as is, including the contact information at the end. Website URLs must be...read more on organic gardening
Mosquitoes in Your Garden Try Planting These
If you are a serious gardener, you spend lots of time outdoors. And, for sure, you would rather be tending your plants than swatting mosquitoes. While there are many...read more on organic gardening
Today s Top Organic Fertilizer Manufacturer
With today's growing environment concerns, growing plants the organic way seems to be the most logical, not to mention the safest gardening method available. More and more...read more on organic gardening
Caring for Your Plants
One of the best things you can do to save money on your landscape is to properly care for your plants. This is very important to keeping a healthy yard and an attractive...read more on organic gardening
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There are many ways gardeners can plan and save on water usage
and water requirements in the landscape.
Sometimes the old fashion methods are not used. The simplest
that I know is like playing cards and gambling. Gamble and plant
early. There is usually more soil moisture early in the spring
than later as the average daily temperatures rise. We order some
seedlings that we don't grow ourselves and have them shipped to
us as early as possible. If we can't plant them outside, we heal
them in and wait till they can be planted. If the seedlings are
small, we consider potting them up and waiting for perfect
conditions. This gives us more chances to time our plantings to
the soil condtions that we want.
Old fashion methods also did not rely on lots of chemical
fertilizers. Lots of fertilizers don't induce the plants to grow
deep roots. Deep roots allow plants to tolerate dry periods
better than shallow roots which dry out easily. Let your plants
work for their nutrients. Make them develop far reaching roots
and then reward them with fertilizers. These plants will not
suffer as much from a lack of rainfall.
Create your own compost pile and use compost and mulches to
help the soil reserve moisture. Plants are not fussy about the
compost organic matter. Composted manure, leaves and grass, lawn
clippings, table scraps, even Fido can contribute! Mulches hold
in moisture by cutting down on evaporation of water from the
soil. Mulches also help retain runoff of water when there is a
hard rain. Do not use plastic liners and covers as weed barriers
as these block water from the soil and also prevent air from the
root zone of the plants.
Screens and buffers also help in water conservation. Screens
and buffers cut down on wind velocity across the landscape. If
you can buffer the winds you will help your soil retain moisture
longer.
Plant selection also can be used to select plants that don't
require as much moisture. An example is American Arborvitae vs
Emerald Green Arborvitae. The Emerald green is more drought
sensitive than the American. The emerald green is a more dense
plant. Thus with more surface area, it will require more
moisture making it more sensitive to drought conditions.
Use a rain barrel. My father in law uses a plastic 55 gal.
drum. He fills it from the house downspouts. Water is always
handy when needed and best of all its free.
If you are going to water a gentle cultivation loosens the soil
so that the water can soak in easily. Hard compacted soils sends
water to your neighbors. Avoid runoff, encourage the water to
soak in.
About the author:
Bill contributes articles on subjects dealing with the nuresy
trade and landscaping. His web sites are:
http://www.seedlingsrus.com and http://www.zone5trees.com His
home farm is in Doylestown Pa. about 30 miles north of
Philadelphia. His phone # is 215651 8329
Written by:
Bill Hirst
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