FAQ
What Should A Grow In My First Garden?
So I Recently Bought My First House And Would Love To Have A Vegetable Garden But I'M Not Sure Where To Start. I Do Know A Little Something About Growing Plants But I'M Not An Expert On The Subject By Any Means. I Figured I Would Start Small. A Few Of The Things A Would Like To Try Are Herbs (Basil, Rosemary, Sage, Chives, Thyme) Carrots, Squash, Beets, And Maybe Potatoes. So I Would Like To Know If These Things Would Be Easy Enough For A First-Timer To Grow? Any Suggestions On Other Types Of Vegetables Or Herbs? Should I Start By Seed Or Buy Smaller Plants? Also, I Live In Maine So The Growing Season Is A Little Ways Off But I Know Some Things Just Won'T Grow Well Here. I Should Also Add That I Have A Spot That I Plan On Using That Gets A Lot Of Light For Most Of The Day But For The Most Part My House Is Surrounded By Trees So I Have Shaded Areas Too That I Could Use For Shade Loving Plants. Oh And I Would Love To Grow Everything Naturally/Organically So If Anyone Has Any Tips On Books Or Websites On Organic Farming That Would Be Great Too! Thanks!
If you want to go organic, mushroom compost makes your plants thrive. For a first garden, do yourself a huge favor & just pick up baby plants from a farmer's market. If you have a water source/irrigation system they'll do great, but if not they will dry up. A drip hose may be easiest for you (soaker hose) if no sprinkler system. The soil has to be loose, to provide drainage for the roots.
As you have mostly shade, you may have to split the garden into 2 or 3 small areas that do get sun- that is key to growing most vegetables. If not, you'll get very healthy leaves, but nothing to eat! One easy trick is to build up an area with logs or railroad ties in an 8'x8' square, or however big you want it. Fill that with good soil, which will contain the nutrients you put in it, instead of having it wash into other areas.
Have you looked into composting? Plants need lots of good nutrition in order to provide it. You should also mulch with either bark, newspaper strips, pine straw or composted leaves to keep weeds away. Are you against using a squirts of diluted Dawn when you start seeing bugs? Of course, you have to wash the veggies off, but hey- at least they'll be clean~
~m~
How To Grow Peachtree From Seed ?
Does Any One Know How To Grow A Peachtree From A Seed I Would Like To Try. Then How Long Tell It Produces Peaches
I've always wanted to try that myself, for example, I'd get to the core of an apple and be like "I wonder if I...."
So I looked it up.
If I remember correctly growing any of the fruit trees from scratch is rather difficult and it may take a year or two before you see any fruit, but here's what I could scrounge up about peaches:
"Starting peach trees from seeds is not recommended because the seed will not exactly produce the same variety as the tree the pit came from. However, if you wish to try, they will either need to be stratified artificially or by Mother Nature. Place the seeds in moist paper towels in January and then in a zip-lock plastic bag and place in the refrigerator until April. At this time they will be ready to plant in a pot or in the ground. Or place the seeds in a pot of loose potting soil in early winter and allow Mother Nature to do the job for you.
You will need to keep the pots watered during the winter months if it doesn't rain occasionally. The seeds should sprout naturally in the spring once the weather conditions become favorable."
which I got from: http://plantanswers.tamu.edu/fruit/peach...
and also I found this:
"Have you ever wanted to grow a peach tree from a peach pit? It can be done.
Peaches from seed can result in trees that bear decent fruit, although they may not look or taste just like the peach from the pit came. Most commercial peach varieties are budded onto specific varieties of rootstock. In any case, peach pits can be planted in fall in a garden area, just as if you were planting any other seed. Plant them about 4 inches deep and apart in a row.
Cover with an inch of straw, pine needles or similar mulch and then water. Throughout winter, water the row when conditions have been dry and warm with no snow cover. Many of the pits will germinate the following spring. You can transplant them to pots for growing to a larger size, or move them directly to their new location. Avoid planting peaches on southern exposures, as the extra heat would cause them to bloom even earlier in spring, ensuring that late frosts would prevent fruit development. Eastern or northern exposures are best, but it will be several years to fruiting size from a seedling peach. Note that the late frosts our area receives will typically mean that peaches develop only one or two years out of five."
Which I got from: http://coopext.colostate.edu/4dmg/VegFru...
Here's a nifty PDF I also found: http://hortweb.cas.psu.edu/extension/tre...
After skimming through these, you might be better off buying baby trees and planting them. You still might have to wait until you get your first fruits but at least you know the fruit you will get will be either the kind you like, or tasty in general. And you'll already have a head start on it growing, and you don't have to worry about any seeds not germinating.
Hope this helps 
Can I Use Cedar Bedding In My Ferret Cage?
I Have Heard That You Aren'T Supposed To Use Pine Or Cedar Bedding In A Ferret Cage, But Have Been Using Both For The Last 3 Months With Absolutely No Problems...
You can but it's not recommended.
Wood shavings are dusty and can cause your ferret to develop respiratory problems. It might not happen as quickly as three months but the dust isn't good for them.
"Do not use wood shavings as bedding. Shavings can promote severe respiratory problems in ferrets. Cedar shavings are the most toxic, and pine shavings can also be problematic because of oils and acids. Aspen shavings are the only wood shavings suitable for ferrets. These may be somewhat more difficult to locate; look where reptile supplies are sold. Corn cob litter can add to respiratory problems due to dust, and some ferrets ingest the corn cob pellets and get intestinal blockages. The best bedding is old t-shirts, towels, blankets, or other cloth that can be easily washed and does not have frayed edges or holes that could snare a ferret."
"Cedar shavings, white and yellow pines, release volatile hydrocarbons which can affect animals. Plicatic acid, a volatile hydrocarbon, results in asthma in humans and rabbits. Other hydrocarbons result in changes in the liver, which may impair its ability to detoxify certain drugs, including various anesthetic agents. Scientists over the years have alluded to possible carcinogenicity in cedar shavings. "
"Never use wood shavings or pine/cedar chips. These products have caused ferrets to develop respiratory problems."
"On the more practical side, a 1986 article in Lab Animal evaluated many of the common bedding materials, also including hardwood chips, sawdust, paper chips, newspaper, ground corncob, rabbit pellets, straw, and hay (along with several others) for the following: absorbency, dust, endogenous effects on the animal, cost, use in nesting, and disposability. In all categories, cedar shavings was not recommended. Interestingly enough, paper products and heat-treated softwood chips scored highest overall. "
"One thing to remember however is not to use wood chips or wood shavings in your ferrets cage, the dust from this material gets lodged in their lungs and can cause some serious health conditions later on in life."
I Have 4 Squash Plants And 2 Zucchini Plants. Until Now They Have Done Well. Now They Have Blossom End Rot.?
How Do I Fix This? What Went Wrong?
Sounds like the heat is getting too hot for them which isn't too much one can do except trying a very loose mulch like pine or wheat straw spread over the base of the plant where it forms the root. The straw will provide some shade and even though it may look out of place the object is shading the plants then in the fall can be recycled back into the soil when harvesting is well over.
How Do You Grow Strawberries?
We Just Moved Into A New House And We Realized There Are Strawberries Growing In Our Garden. What Do They Need So We Can Keep Them Growing? Please And Thank You!
Strawberries are perennials so you'll have them to enjoy year after year.
They're done producing for the year -- unless they're ever-bearing -- and there are a few things you can do to get them ready for next year.
- Thin the plants so they stand about 4 - 6" apart.
- Make a light application of granular fertilizer (5-10-10 or 5-10-5) every month until one month before the average date of the first frost. Avoid getting ferts on the leaves as it may burn.
- Assuming you live east of the Rockies where soils are naturally acidic...make a light application of crushed limestone or wood ash. Strawberries are acid-loving plants; however...if the soil is too acidic...the plants will have trouble taking up nutrients.
- In the spring...make a light application of granular fertilizer when new growth begins...followed by mulching with a thin-ish layer of pine straw to keep the berries off the ground.
- Spray fungicide weekly if spring growing conditions are wet; otherwise...the berries will become moldy and rot.
- Squirrels loves them some strawberries so you may need to cover the bed -- floating row cover or toile -- once ripening begins.
- Strawberries are ripe for picking ~30 days after flowering.
backyard landscaping ideas for sloped yards
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