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Growing Great Grass: The Gardening Challenge!

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Some people plant fruits and veggies and some people plant grass. The amount of care, concern and sheer back-breaking labor many people put into growing grass is impressive, and it takes a particular kind of gardening skill to grow that coveted emerald green, perfectly uniform lawn to which so many suburbanites aspire. In this article, we will discuss some of the top tips to help you keep up with the Jones’ and have a great lawn.

Choosing the right kind of grass is of the utmost importance. You must pay close attention to factors other than appearance. One of the most important of these is soil. Have your soil tested and choose a type of grass that is most likely to do well in the soil you have. Otherwise, you will spend a great deal of time and money on soil amendments to create the perfect soil for your grass.

Even when you choose just the right grass for your area, you will need to prepare your soil carefully for a uniform appearance. Your yards should be tilled and leveled for a nice, smooth surface upon which to sow your grass seed or sod. Be sure to remove rocks and stones now so that you will not discover them with your mower blades or by spraining your ankle in the future.

Apply a good fertilizer, such as calcium-rich lime, to your soil in an even manner. Rake it in with a fine-toothed rake and then tap the soil all over to create a nice smooth surface. Don’t tap too hard. You want to soil to remain receptive to root growth. You may want to go over it again (lightly) with your rake to create a welcoming surface for your seed or sod.

You can sow your seed by hand or use a seed distributor that you push. Get good, even seed coverage to prevent bare spots and openings for opportunistic weeds. Once you have your seed in place, toss out a light layer of mulched straw or peat moss and provide a good watering with a sprinkler. All of these steps work together to give your seed a good start and help it sink into the soil so the birds can’t get it.

Of course, if you choose to install sod instead of planting seed, your job is a little different and a lot harder. Be sure to order your sod from a reputable company that guarantees no pests or poisons in the sod. Rolling it out is hard work, and you will really need a roller to press it down into the ground for good root contact. Overall, for a homeowner, seeding a lawn is preferable to DIY sod installation.

Your grass seed should be watered gently and thoroughly a couple of times a week until it really takes hold. Once it is well-established, it’s best to water a couple of inches about once a week. This will encourage deeper root growth and hardier grass.

When you follow the tips presented here, you can produce a beautiful lawn that will be the envy of all your neighbors.

Growing A Vegetable Garden On A Shoestring Budget

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If you are one of the many who have turned to gardening as a method of cutting your grocery bill, you don’t want to end up spending even more money at the home improvement store. You do want to make sure that you are prepared for the task of gardening, but it is also true that your garden does not have to break the bank.

Planning makes a huge difference when it comes to saving money in your garden. If you figure out what you want to do ahead of time, then your garden is much more likely to do well. Figure out where you want your garden, and then figure out the sunlight exposure that part of your yard will have. This will help you choose plants that grow in that amount of light. Then, talk to your family and make sure they know they will be eating what you grow. Choose plants that they will all agree to eat and will enjoy and do well in that amount of light. This will keep you from wasting money on vegetables that will not grow so well or that no one will eat.

Once you have your first round of crops, you will end up with more seeds than you know what to do with. You can throw them away, or you can dry them and save them for an exchange with other gardeners. This will help you save money when it comes to buy the next year’s seeds, because you already have a different sort of currency in your garden: seeds that other people will want. Barter is one of the oldest forms of economic trade in the world; turn it to your advantage and use your seeds to buy your next year’s crops.

Don’t swap all of your seeds, of course. Keep a few of them so that you can grow them yourself. If your family loved your red bell peppers, then save some seeds to replenish that part of the plot when the next planting season comes. This way you’ll have the seeds you swapped for as well as your own favorites from this year.

You can even make your own fertilizer by composting grass cuttings and food-based waste from your kitchen. It takes a long time to turn these items into compost, particularly if you don’t have a composter sitting outside to put them in, but once you have compost developing, you can just take out what you need and add more materials, making a pile that will keep your yard fertile.

If you want to garden in containers, you can find containers for free at a number of places. Some restaurants just throw out old buckets and plastic boxes; instead, stop in and tell the manager what you want to do, and explain that you want to help the environment. They are as likely as not just to give them to you.

Gardening can be a budget saver. Use these tips to get more for your dollar.

Growing a Vegetable Garden at Home

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Putting together a vegetable garden is a tremendous way to cut food costs and give your family fresh, healthy vegetables. Growing vegetables in your yard is not as difficult as you might imagine; you can do it with hard work and planning.

This might seem like a no-brainer, but if you go to the store and come back with seed packets for things you never cook, or things that you cook and do not eat, then you will be wasting your time and setting yourself up for frustration. If brussel sprouts cause mutiny at your dinner table, don’t even think about growing them. Things like sweet corn, tomatoes, and green beans might be good starter ideas, because they are items that most people like. Talk to your family when you get started, though, so you will have a good idea about what you all will be growing together.

If you live in Texas, you probably shouldn’t plant an apple tree as part of your garden. Most of the year, the climate is just too hot for you to get apple trees that will produce the sort of apples that are good to eat. You can grow Granny Smith apples in Texas, but those are much better to put into pies than to slice up and put into lunches. On the other hand, you probably shouldn’t grow watermelons in Michigan, unless you have a hothouse ready to go. The colder climate will not be hospitable. Spend some time researching your region to see what you should plant in your part of the world.

Pest control can be a huge issue with home gardens. The reason why you have to wash your produce that you get from the store is that it is often covered with pesticides that the commercial farms have sprayed throughout their growing areas to keep bugs and other critters away from the crops. One reason you may be growing crops at home is to stay away from those chemicals. However, if you don’t put anything down, your crop will be susceptible to these predators. Talk to your nursery professional to get the latest organic treatment ideas that work effectively in your part of the country. That way you’ll have healthier crops that end up feeding you instead of your yard’s bugs.

Planting your garden is by no means the end of the task at hand — it is just the beginning. You have to be vigilant in terms of watering it, keeping weeds from getting into your new crops, and keeping hungry rabbits and other varmints out of what you are growing for your family. It can be a pain, because it requires daily vigilance — if agriculture were all fun and games, people would have never come up with commercialized farming in the first place. However, watching your own crops grow and develop (and end up in yummy dishes on your table) is extremely rewarding, once you get to the end of the process.

Your home garden will bring you benefits over and over again — not the least of which are freshness and quality. Use these tips as you build your garden.

Growing an Attractive, Productive Winter Garden

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It’s no big secret that most gardening begins in the spring and that most plants are harvested in the summer. However, if you’re willing to put in a little time to learn and a little work to pull it off, you can have a garden in the wintertime. Not only can your garden look incredibly attractive year round, but it can also yield actual produce in some of the year’s coldest months.

Before you can really begin planting a winter garden, the first step in the process is knowing your particular climate zone. Obviously, if you live in Florida, Texas, southern Cali or another warm-weather state, your climate is a lot different in the winter than Maine and Michigan. So figure out your climate, what types of plants can grow, and other factors before you make any big plans. This will let you know whether you can grow real food or if you’ll have to settle for eye candy.

No matter where your climate is, ornamental plants look great in the wintertime. While everyone else is fighting to keep their grass alive in the colder months, your yard can look fantastic with plenty of greenery. You can even plant blossoming plants in the winter, like snowdrops, witch hazel, hellebores, and others. Just remember to use another solid tip here and to always check your climate zone. You don’t want to spend the money and effort if things won’t grow.

Blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, and even some varieties of strawberries will all grow in the winter if you’re taking care of the plants. If you can keep them from outright freezing, you can have plenty of winter berries in practically any climate. As an added bonus, the blossoming berries will add a ton of color to your yard. You can have a great-looking garden yielding some great-tasting fruits.

Another way to really spruce up the eye appeal of your garden is to use colorful containers for what you’re planting. When it comes to a winter garden container, you can be as creative here as you want. You can purchase a basic clay container and paint it any color or design you choose, or you can find some very attractive containers online to purchase. The extra color here will really make your yard pop while others are lying dormant.

If you’re really concerned about having an attractive garden, then it will help if you complete the entire picture here in your yard. You shouldn’t settle for only good-looking plants and attractive containers. Creating an entire garden scene is how to add real beauty to the area. Try placing different ornaments in the yard. Think about getting a swing, a stone bench, an attractive arch, and other elements that help complete the scene.

When it’s all said and done, you can create practically any type of garden you want in the wintertime. From gardens that produce actual fruits, vegetables and berries, to gardens that are solely for eye appeal, you can garden in the winter and make your yard look great.

Growing An Amazing Vegetable Garden

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Starting your own vegetable garden can be a really fun hobby. Yes, it will be challenging, but it is not as difficult as you might think. If you read this article, you will find some ideas that you can put to use when growing your garden, so you can end up in the summertime with a plentiful harvest.

Look at the place you want to grow your garden, and consider how much sunlight it gets. Is it right next to a fence that will block the light after about 3:00 each afternoon? Is most of it under a giant oak tree, which means that you not only will not get much light but will also get a host of acorns dropping into your acorn squash? The more light you get, the more you will need to take that into consideration when choosing the vegetables for your garden. Talk to the professional at your nursery about this when you go in to start buying your different plants and seeds for the garden. You should go find someone who knows your area and can make specific recommendations for you.

It is also important to know the quality and type of soil in your yard. For example, in Texas, if you are in the eastern third of the state, you have extremely fertile black soil that will grow a number of different fruits and vegetables for you. However, just north of that area, the soil turns to red clay and becomes more inhospitable for a number of different types of crops. Out west, the land turns drier, which means that there are different challenges to consider. Take a sample from your yard in when you go to the nursery, in order to show the nursery professional what you are dealing with.

Once you know your light and soil conditions, you are ready to do some research about the vegetables that will grow well in your yard. In addition to talking to the nursery professional, you can also find a lot of this information online. Simply choose your area of the country, indicate the type of soil that you have, and indicate the sunlight that will hit the garden, and you will be able to find a list of recommendations from a number of websites.

Once you have talked things over with your nursery professional and done your own research, you will be ready to make some selections for your garden. You’ll also want to talk to the people who live with you, because you’ll probably be expecting them to eat what you grow. Most people don’t like lima beans, but if you are a lima bean fanatic, you’ll want to warn people about the coming harvest, so they can run if you’re preparing lima beans that night, and if you’re growing a dozen bushels of them.

If you grow a vegetable garden, you can grow your own groceries, saving money and putting fresher food on the table. Try the tips in this article to get started.

Growing A Garden While On A Budget

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Growing your own garden is a great way to save on your grocery bills. It is also a good idea if you are trying to implement more healthy food in your family’s diet. Many people do not garden because they are worried about the cost of all of the supplies. This is an understandable concern, but there are many ways that you can garden without breaking the bank. Keep reading if the thought of that is intriguing to you.

Careful planning is one of the most important parts of saving money on gardening. This is because you will not be stuck trying to do things at the last minute. You can do research to find out what plants are easy to maintain and do not take a lot of extra resources. While you do want to put some work into it, it is always great to plant something and not have to do much to it before it blossoms.

Talk to other people in your area and see if anyone is interested in doing a seed exchange. This is when people buy seeds in bulk and they share them amongst one another. Basically, for the cost of one box of seeds, you can end up with an entire yard full of different types of things. If nobody you know personally seems interested, try looking for like-minded people in gardening forums online.

Save the seeds from your vegetables for next season. Most people do not realize that fruits and vegetables that have seeds are a great source for new crops. Why pay a lot of money for seeds when you can save the ones that are in the food you are eating. The best thing about this is that you can keep the food cycle going without having to put much into it.

Make your own insect spray to ward off pesky critters. This is not very hard to do and it will keep your family safer than many products out there on the market. Cayenne pepper, garlic and liquid soap are just a few ingredients that are used in homemade insecticides. You have to do some research to figure out how much of each is needed. You don’t want to wing it because using the wrong amounts can kill certain plants.

Gardening tools can be pretty expensive, and that stops a lot of people from buying all of the proper equipment. Do not let those high prices scare you off. There are many discount stores that sell everything you need. The thing is that you have to get out and look for them. Home and garden stores are pretty pricy because they are specialty stores. Getting cheaper equipment elsewhere does not necessarily mean the level of quality will suffer.

Planting a great garden involves a lot of work, but if you use the tips above it will not cost you a lot of money. Once you realize that you can have fresh, tasty food for your family without breaking the bank, you will wonder why you did not do all of this sooner.