Latest Gardening Articles

Kinder Garden...Getting Children Interested in Gardening

Wed, 08 Sep 2010 07:39:43 -0500

Whether it is creating a picturesque, beautiful garden, densely packed with colourful flowers, or sprouting a variety of tasty, nutritious vegetables on an allotment, there can be no doubt that many people are keener than ever to get their hands dirty in the comfort of their own homes, and it is imperative that this passion and vigour is handed down to the next generation.

Gardening can be a great way of spending quality time together. This is especially true of shared projects, where the whole family gets involved. When entrusted with responsibility for a task, and suitable tools (which always make great gardening gifts for budding horticulturalists of all ages), children almost always respond positively.

Keep it Fun

Although gardening certainly has its fair share of laborious, but essential chores, be careful not to offload these onto the kids. It can be tempting, for both parties, to enter into a garden chores-for-cash arrangement too, but this is likely to have your children lose interest quickly.

There are an equal number of challenges and projects which, upon completion, offer rewards in themselves, and these are far more likely to engage and fire young, imaginative minds.

Glorious Mud

From the youngest age, all children relish digging and playing around in the muck, from soil in the garden, to sandcastles on the beach. This is the perfect introduction to the gardening world! Endeavour to find an area that can act as an exclusive “sandbox” for the kids, or encourage them to mess around in newly dug areas before they are planted.

Tools for Gardening Gifts

All young children learn by imitating adults. Providing them with their very own gardening tools allows them to get involved with the same activities as the adults, and also gives them something uniquely theirs to treasure.

Many garden tools also come in child friendly, mini sizes, and buckets, spades, rakes, gloves, watering cans and wheelbarrows all make ideal gardening gifts.

Planting Seeds

Cultivating plants from seed is an elementary task for many gardeners and a perfect starting point for children in the garden. Sowing and growing allows young children to control their own micro-project, whilst enabling them to gain insight into the circle of life and witness the effect of their attentions on a day-by-day, leaf-by-leaf basis.

It can be immensely rewarding to grow something as mighty and breathtaking as a tall, proud Sunflower, or a humble sweet pea, from a mere seed.

Encourage your children to track their creations progress – they could measure, or even draw them, at each stage of growth. Stick with fast germinating, quick flowering annuals for the most immediate results (best for short attention spans).

Collecting and Categorising

Like the adults they will one day grow into, many children delight in collecting things, and arranging them into groups.

Think about what’s prolific on your plot – leaves, flowers, seeds and bark are just a few of the many possibilities – and they can all be collected, decorated, sketched, identified and used to create other things.

Using Containers

Terracotta pots take paint very well and are easily decorated. A great method of getting creative in the garden is to encourage children to decorate and then plant their own containers.

Decorations can be painted, glued or tied. Shells, seed-cases, leaves, paint, sand and stones are just a few of the possible materials than can be experimented with. Take the children along to a nursery or garden centre, allocate them a small budget, and select something suitable to plant.

Birds and Bees

Ladybirds are a perennial favourite of children and adult gardeners alike. Many kids have an affinity with animals of all shapes and sizes, and exploring the greenery in search of insects is a popular pastime. Some of these can be collected, identified, and released (with the possible exception of pesky vine weevils!).

Keeping a list of birds that visit the garden, and their activities whilst there, is a good alternative. The definitive garden biosphere is the garden pond – the sheer volume and variety of creatures that call it home is astonishing, and a source of wonder to even the most jaded of tots. If that works well, then try building feeders, nest-boxes, habitats and food plants... or perhaps create a new pond from scratch.

For general garden gifts or that special garden gift for your favourite gardener visit EcoCharlie.co.uk.

All about the Cedar Mulch

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 01:45:26 -0500

There are several different forms of mulch. One of the most common forms is cedar mulch. It has several advantages when you compare it with the other forms. A few of these advantages are nutrients, the affect on insects and stability. In this article, you will learn more about the many advantages of this form of mulch.

Insects: One of the main advantages when it comes to cedar mulch is the effect it has on insects. Many of the organic mulch types attract insects such as crickets, roaches and termites. This mulch has a natural aroma that helps to repel several different types of insects. Generally, most insects would rather not live in the cedar mulch due to its smell. Furthermore, this mulch will help to control the temperature.

Temperature: The color of this mulch is naturally light. This light color helps to maintain the temperature surrounding the plants. The mulch protects these plants from extreme temperatures that have an effect on the ground surrounding the plants. This means that the plants will stay cool throughout the summer months and won’t freeze throughout the winter months.

Stability: Another fantastic advantage is the stability that it offers the plants. Bark mulch is rather bulky and can be washed away pretty easily by the heavy rain. The cedar mulching is applied into small bits. These small pieces will then lock together to form a thick, dense mat. This helps the mulch stay in its place when it encounters a heavy rain or wind. Not only are this mulch stable but it also helps to control the weeds.

Weeds: This mulch is a great choice when it comes to protecting your plants against weeds. It suppresses the weeds that have already grown by not giving them the sunlight they need to grow. It doesn’t allow the seed to germinate if the mulch is applied deep enough. As mentioned above, the mulch has a natural fragrance. This fragrance is another reason that prevents the weeds from germinating.

Nutrients: One of the last benefits of this mulch is the nutrient that it provides for your plants. As stated earlier, the mulch is shredded. This allows the mulch to decompose rather quickly. When it decomposes, it supplies organic matter in the soil to make it richer.

Applying the Cedar Mulching to the Flower Beds for Perennials

Cedar mulching can be great when it comes to using it during winter to protect your perennial flowers. However, using it can be done the right way or the wrong way. By using it the wrong way, you are causing more damage than protection. I am including a few tips to help you apply your cedar mulch the correct way for optimum winter protection.

You want to apply your cedar mulch after you have had 2 or 3 days of constant freezing temperatures. When you apply the cedar mulch, you want to spread 4 to 5 inches to allow optimum protection. You should remove your mulch in the early spring. Start to gradually pull away the mulch from the perennials so you don’t suffocate them.

cedar mulch
http://www.mulchtypes.org/

G.Smitty

All about the Mulch Types

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 01:39:05 -0500

Mulch is rather pleasing because of the way it looks. It holds a neat and clean look. This allows your garden to have a finished look and drastically improves the appeal. However, this is not the only benefit of the different mulch types. The different mulch styles help:

Prevent soil erosion.

Add nutrients to the soil.

Retain moisture and control weeds.

When you are trying to choose which mulch types to use, you will see that there are several different options. Here is a brief view of the many different mulch styles and each one’s advantages and disadvantages:

The most common mulch types is made of wood chips, which can generally be found in the garden center. This mulch is simple to work with and gives many of the advantages that were listed previously. Unseasoned wood chips are advantageous than recycled wood chips. They give off acids and toxins that can harm new plants. The plants can also develop fungal contamination. The best option is to use wood chips that have an age of a minimum of 1 year.

Leaves also provide wonderful mulching type. Their advantages are that they don’t cost anything and if there are a lot of trees near you, then you are guaranteed to have a full supply each fall. The disadvantage is the leaves might take longer to start decomposing. These leaves will blow away easily or become matted during the rain. It is best to dry out your leaves before using them. After they have dried out, you should crumple or crush them to eliminate these disadvantages.

Another mulch is straw. It can be found in the leftover stems after grain crops have been harvested. The most important advantage of straw is that it covers the ground well. The unplanted garden patches and newly seeded lawns in particular need mulching. However, there are a few disadvantages of using straw. Since straw is very light, it can blow away easily. Furthermore, it can decompose quickly and will have to be replaced often. Straw mulch is best used in an area that doesn’t require protection or cover for a long period of time.

Another great mulch type is shredded paper or newspaper. This mulch is great for vegetable gardens. The advantages are that you can find newspaper rather easily and the decomposition is quick. The main disadvantages are that it is not that attractive when it comes to landscaping and the ink color could harm your plants. If you are going to use this option, be sure not to use the comic section or sections that contain ink colors. Don’t use magazines due to the glossy paper.

An additional form of mulch is pine needles. There are many advantages you get by using pine needles. They are a great attraction for many landscaping designs. They also can retain moisture. Strong rains will not keep them from staying in place. There are only a few disadvantages. Pine straws can be difficult to find if you have to purchase them and the acid levels in the soil tends to increase. However, there are some plants that do well with high acid levels. Therefore pine needles will work fantastically.

The last type of mulch is landscape fabric, which can be bought in most garden centers in rolls and is referred to as geotextile. There are many advantages of landscape fabric such as the weed control. The free airflow and moisture can get through into the soil and below it. The biggest disadvantage of this mulch is that the plants roots can penetrate the fabric, which can make it difficult to remove. This fabric is excellent for larger areas and can be used with permanent structures like a deck or patio.

mulch types
http://www.mulchtypes.org/

G.Smitty