Late August and early September is the time of year where vacations are ending and kids are heading back to school. Just because outdoor activities are dwindling down doesn't mean you can't continue tending to your garden and home landscaping. Fall is the garden's most forgotten season. In most North American gardens, the fall is an underused season for gardening. By planting a fall garden, you take advantage of this beautiful season and can enjoy your garden a little longer. We spend so much time creating beauty from spring's first flowers throughout the summer we often forget to reap the rewards during the fall. Whether you want to plant vegetation or shrubbery and flowers, there are some wonderful plants and vegetation that put on their best show between August and October.
The fall is a great time to grow some cool season vegetables. Typically, vegetables that grow best in cool weather are leafy greens, root crops and various members of the cabbage family. Beets, carrots, peas, turnips, radishes, spinach, broccoli, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts may be planted in early August for fall harvesting. Some of them will even tolerate light frosts. These are wonderful vegetables to grow this time of year, and taste so much better than store bought produce. Plant a fall garden and enjoy homegrown veggies into the cooler months of the year.
Fall is a satisfying time of the year for the perennial gardener. There are still a good 6 to 8 weeks of beautiful fall gardens ahead. Perennials that drooped and faded in the heat of summer may re-bloom, and the fall-blooming plants are in their full glory. Go for colors that complement the falling leaves. Try some of the many perennials (begonias or goldenrods), annuals (mums) and shrubs (Sumac or Fothergilla) that shine against the spectacular backdrop of the changing seasons. Choose bright gold or orange or even red perennials. These will typically bloom until the first frost of the season.
During the fall, it is time to begin thinking about winter and preparing your perennial beds accordingly. There are a number of cleanup and winter preparation chores that you should perform. As fall progresses you will want to start clearing leaves out of your gardening beds. If left to mat down thickly they may create conditions that cause root rot. You can use the shredded leaves to mulch your garden. Also, early October is a good time to prune back herbaceous plants that will be killed to the ground with the first frost.
Take advantage of the cool months after summer to beautify your garden or landscaping for fall and prepare it for a cold winter. The more tending you are to your gardening year-round the more effortless it looks with each passing season.
About the Author
Lifestyle Builders is a leading home builder and developer of new homes in Midlothian, Virginia. Our homes are built in such neighborhoods and communities throughout the Richmond Virginia area.
Using Herbs From a Home garden
The herb garden you've carefully tended has yielded great results, and now the plants are thriving. The question is how do you harvest and utilize the herbs you've grown? Here are some ideas on how to get the best use from your plentiful home herb garden.
First, hearty plants need to be harvested. How do you know when herbs are ready? Depending on the herb, a good general rule is to harvest plants just before they start to flower. In the case of lemon balm or mint, for example, you can trim the plants pretty close to the roots, since they will come back quickly over time.
However, other herbs, like hawthorn and comfrey are harvested for both flowers and leaves, dried, and then used for tea. You can find information online to help sort out the different qualities of each herb and how to use what you have grown.
General rules do apply, though. The best time of day to harvest outdoor plants is in the morning, when the dew has just dried from the leaves, before the sun has a chance to dry out the herb's essential oils. It is important to know the characteristics of a particular herb to determine how much of the foliage to leave behind. You shouldn't take more than approximately one-third of the entire foliage of perennials at once.
This pruning method makes the plants heartier, and ensures they will continue to produce a steady amount over time. You want to prune the herb's branches enough to encourage new growth without damaging the plant's ability to thrive.
In the summer, pick a calm, dry morning when the wind is low. You want to harvest plants from a home herb garden at their peak, and in wet weather, herbs produce less oil. Most annual and perennial herbs can be harvested two or three times in a single season.
The final harvest should take place in the early fall to allow some growth before the first frost of winter. Fresh-cut stems can be bundled together near the bottom - thin string or dental floss are good choices for tying them together. They should be rinsed in cool water, and then gathered on towels to dry.
Herbs are primarily dried, frozen, or immersed in a proper medium like vinegar or salt to help them last. Herbs become less potent over time, so it is important to process and store them quickly. You can either hang the bundles in a cool place away from the sun or spread individual stems and leaves on a rack or screen, turning them occasionally so they dry evenly and completely.
If you choose to freeze herbs, cut into ¼-inch pieces on a cookie sheet lined with parchment or wax paper. You can then store them in freezer bags for future use. Alternatively, you can store herbs like tarragon, basil, or chopped mint for several months in a vinegar medium or in between layers of salt.
You can, of course, use herbs immediately in recipes or as fresh additives to your cooking. Placing them in a cool water bath with two tablespoons of salt is effective in clearing off insects without harming the delicate leaves and flowers. Allow them to air dry and use immediately.
A home herb garden yields fresh herbs that add flavor and zest to your best dishes. If you learn the particulars of harvesting and using individual herbs, you will enjoy a unique gardening experience that offers years of satisfaction.
About the Author
Paul Zeman is an Herb Garden enthusiast who enjoys helping other folks get started with this wonderful and rewarding hobby. His latest book, the "Secrets to Successful Herb Gardening" teaches herb gardeners everything they need to know about herbs, indoor and outdoor gardens, herb gardening and much more. http://www.heavenlyherbgarden.com/hhgs.html
First, hearty plants need to be harvested. How do you know when herbs are ready? Depending on the herb, a good general rule is to harvest plants just before they start to flower. In the case of lemon balm or mint, for example, you can trim the plants pretty close to the roots, since they will come back quickly over time.
However, other herbs, like hawthorn and comfrey are harvested for both flowers and leaves, dried, and then used for tea. You can find information online to help sort out the different qualities of each herb and how to use what you have grown.
General rules do apply, though. The best time of day to harvest outdoor plants is in the morning, when the dew has just dried from the leaves, before the sun has a chance to dry out the herb's essential oils. It is important to know the characteristics of a particular herb to determine how much of the foliage to leave behind. You shouldn't take more than approximately one-third of the entire foliage of perennials at once.
This pruning method makes the plants heartier, and ensures they will continue to produce a steady amount over time. You want to prune the herb's branches enough to encourage new growth without damaging the plant's ability to thrive.
In the summer, pick a calm, dry morning when the wind is low. You want to harvest plants from a home herb garden at their peak, and in wet weather, herbs produce less oil. Most annual and perennial herbs can be harvested two or three times in a single season.
The final harvest should take place in the early fall to allow some growth before the first frost of winter. Fresh-cut stems can be bundled together near the bottom - thin string or dental floss are good choices for tying them together. They should be rinsed in cool water, and then gathered on towels to dry.
Herbs are primarily dried, frozen, or immersed in a proper medium like vinegar or salt to help them last. Herbs become less potent over time, so it is important to process and store them quickly. You can either hang the bundles in a cool place away from the sun or spread individual stems and leaves on a rack or screen, turning them occasionally so they dry evenly and completely.
If you choose to freeze herbs, cut into ¼-inch pieces on a cookie sheet lined with parchment or wax paper. You can then store them in freezer bags for future use. Alternatively, you can store herbs like tarragon, basil, or chopped mint for several months in a vinegar medium or in between layers of salt.
You can, of course, use herbs immediately in recipes or as fresh additives to your cooking. Placing them in a cool water bath with two tablespoons of salt is effective in clearing off insects without harming the delicate leaves and flowers. Allow them to air dry and use immediately.
A home herb garden yields fresh herbs that add flavor and zest to your best dishes. If you learn the particulars of harvesting and using individual herbs, you will enjoy a unique gardening experience that offers years of satisfaction.
About the Author
Paul Zeman is an Herb Garden enthusiast who enjoys helping other folks get started with this wonderful and rewarding hobby. His latest book, the "Secrets to Successful Herb Gardening" teaches herb gardeners everything they need to know about herbs, indoor and outdoor gardens, herb gardening and much more. http://www.heavenlyherbgarden.com/hhgs.html
Why You Need Carbon Monoxide Detectors in Your Home
Carbon monoxide detectors should be made mandetory by law. Protect yourself and protect your family now, before it's too late!Let's start this discussion with some horror stories about the reality, before we begin to talk about Carbon Monoxide Detectors themselves.Carbon Monoxide (CO) is a silent killer.It is a colourless, tasteless, odourless, toxic gas that occurs when fossil fuels burn incompletely. It is most commonly found emitting from the exhaust pipes of motor vehicles, but it also occurs in the house, courtesy of gasoline burners, engines, lanterns, gas hobs and heating systems. The CO that is created when vehicle fuels are burned is dissipated into the air and as a result is of no harm to humans. The story in the house can be very different though. If CO is allowed to build up in confined spaces without ventilation, things could get very dangerous.The symptoms of CO poisoning can mimic other illnesses such as flu, so you may be unaware that you are being poisoned. Some of these symptomsare headaches, nausea, dizziness, vomiting and chest pains. If you inhale enough CO, then you could lose consciousness and die. The CO is replacing the oxygen in your body, and without oxygen, your body cannot function.One visible clue to the presence of carbon monoxide is if a flame is burning with a violet colour. Perhaps your water heater is old or has not been serviced, or you have a problem with other appliances. Either way, the presence of excess CO can spell great danger for you and your family.So, a carbon monoxide detector is certainly a good idea in every home. They are cheap to buy, and easy to install, so their is really no excuse for not having one. They are usually battery operated and emit loud alarms if high levels of CO are detected in the atmosphere.If you or any of your family members repeatedly show any of the symptoms of CO poisoning mentioned in the article above, do not think twice.Protect your family, and buy a carbon monoxide detector. Don't let saving a few pounds cost you the lives of you and your family. Get a carbon monoxide alarm today.Source: Free Articles from ArticlesFactory.comABOUT THE AUTHORCharlie Cory is an online entrepreneur who has been building websites and earning a living from the Internet for a number of years.
How to Start and Run a Landscape & Garden Maintenance Business
Own your business, own your job, own your life.
Statistics show that nine out of every ten new businesses fail. Most of these businesses fail within the first year. The rest don’t make it past their third anniversary. Given such dismal odds why would you want to start a landscaping or interiorscaping business?
First of all because the odds are better than you think. Landscaping and interiorscaping are service businesses. A service business is the most easy business to start and be successful. The “statistics” usually do not include small service businesses. So, one would hope, your odds are better than you think.
There are other reasons that make starting a service business easier than others. You can start out with low capital investment. You can run your business with low overhead. If you manage your business properly, slow periods will not cause financial hardship.
The reason for most business failures is that they cannot survive slow periods or cash crunches. Other types of businesses have large overheads that require a constant influx of money. Such expenses as employees, rent, loan payments, etc. You can design your business to survive these problems.
These guidelines for starting your own service business are for those who have little or no money to start with. If you have plenty of money (start-up capital) than you can follow these guidelines much easier than the rest of us. So before we get started, remember we are assuming that you have no start-up capital, but are willing to work hard and take a few risks.
First you need to know what you are doing in your new field. A little business knowledge would not hurt either. But you probably do not have time to go back to school. Also, I would imagine you are interested in getting started right away.
So, visit your local book store.
If you know nothing about gardening and landscaping pick up a couple of books that cover the basics. A good book for everyone is Sunset’s Western Garden Book. Not only does it cover all the basics and more, it also has a complete encyclopedia of plants, trees, shrubs, and flowers. Each description tells you what the plant is, how to plant it, care for it, requirements, etc.
If you lack a business background buy some good books on business basics. There are many books on running a small business. Remember, most gardeners, landscapers, or interiorscapers that fail do so, not because they did not know their trade, but because they did not understand how to manage their business. In fact, it is almost more important to understand good business techniques than it is to know about plants.
After you have purchased your small library set aside at least one hour a day (morning, evening, lunch-hour, anytime) to study them. Give yourself as much time as you can to read and study. Be sure to divide your time equally between your business and trade books.
Now, I presume you are currently working at another job to support yourself and possibly a family. Rule Number One: DO NOT QUIT YOUR JOB! Start your business part-time. You need your income to survive on while you build your new business. Your new business will take time to develop to the point where it will support you.
If you have debts (credit cards, auto loans, etc.) try to get them paid off or paid down as much as possible before you start your new business. There will be rough times ahead and you want the decks cleared for heavy weather. In other words, when cash gets tight you do not want to lose your car or be hauled into court.
Acquire the basics you need to get started.
Gardener: A truck or trailer to carry your equipment and debris (although some enterprising people have even started without this). A lawn mower, rake, broom, and other small hand tools. Buy your equipment used if necessary, but shop carefully.
Landscaper: Basically you need hand tools and a truck or trailer. To start with most other tools you can rent.
Interiorscaper: A car or truck is necessary, watering cans, and assorted small hand tools.
From the basic requirements to start it would seem that interiorscaping requires the smallest capital outlay. This is correct, but starting an interiorscape business is more difficult in other ways. It requires a better understanding of the trade. Indoor plants are much more difficult to maintain. Also, acquiring accounts is not as easy as in outdoor work. Most, if not all, interiorscape accounts will be commercial, as opposed to the residential work of gardeners.
For gardeners and landscapers a truck or trailer is a must, but as I mentioned earlier it is possible to start without one for some work. If you are doing maintenance you may be able to get accounts that will allow you to use their equipment and not require you to haul away debris. You will be expected to work very inexpensively, though. If you can get a truck do so.
For both gardeners and landscapers another source of income is from clean-ups. This is simply a one-time job of cleaning up an overgrown landscape. These jobs are hard work, but can be quite profitable.
In every business you have to contend with the government. Service businesses are no different. Before you get started investigate what is required in your area. Most likely you will need a business license from your city. The state may require a contractor’s license or certification for landscape contractors. Most likely your state will require a pest control license if you intend to apply pesticides. Check out all the city, state, and federal rules before you start.
If you can afford it, you should get insurance before you start. If you cannot afford it when you first start your business (remember, some activities, in some states, require insurance) then plan on getting it as soon as possible. It is for your own protection. One lawsuit could ruin all your hard work.
Arrange your work hours so that you have time to start your part-time business. You can start on week-ends, but an ideal schedule would be to have two or three weekdays off and work nights so that you can put in some hours on the other days.
By now you should have the time, equipment, and the knowledge (or working on that by studying). Now you need the work. To get this you need to advertise. How and where you advertise depends on your budget and your market.
For gardeners and landscapers I would recommend that you start with residential work and add commercial work later. For interiorscapers the work is almost all commercial.
To acquire residential work there are several ways. They are presented below in order of cost and are rated for effectiveness.
Word-of-mouth. Recommendations. Cheapest and best, but requires that you already have done some work.
Door-to-door. Cheap, but ineffective and time consuming. If you have no alternatives then pick new areas with new homes and upper income areas.
Flyers. More costly than door-to-door, but no more effective.
Newspaper classified ads. Very effective. Try to use a small direct mail weekly that allows you target specific zip code zones. Weekly direct mail publications with names like Pennysaver, Advisor, etc. are your best bet. Your money will be better spent than in the large city daily.
Yellow pages. Very Expensive. Not a good place to put limited dollars when just getting started, but effective at later stages of your business growth.
Most successful service business that are growing get most of their leads (prospective customers) from word-of-mouth and newspaper ads. A classified in a direct mailed weekly can be as low as $30.00 per zip code zone. I would recommend the type of weekly that consists mainly of classified ads and display ads.
To acquire commercial work is completely different. This requires print advertising in local business magazines or upscale monthly magazines that reach the upper income people in your city. It also requires direct mail campaigns to the businesses you are trying attract as customers and direct (door-to-door) solicitation. An ad in the Yellow Pages is a must for attracting commercial work.
If you advertise in the Yellow Pages use the phone company Yellow Pages and not an imitation. You money will be much better spent.
Once you start advertising you will not immediately get work. First you must bid on the job, that is give the prospective customer a summary of what you intend to do and what it will cost. This is the part that will make or break you.
The lowest price does not always get the job. In fact, we don’t recommend trying to get work by price alone. Charge what you are worth, what you what, and what quality work will pay in your market. Let the competition work for less. The person that gets the job is usually the person who gives the most professional presentation. This means knowing what you are doing. Being able to estimate the time and materials necessary for the job. Presenting yourself and your service in a professional way.
Always be on time for a bid. Never miss a bid (if something does come up, call and change the appointment). I won more jobs because nobody else showed up then you would care to know about. Just being there is half the battle.
Dress neatly. Wear a uniform, if possible. Sears sells uniform shirts and pants in many different colors. It does not have to have your company name on it to look like a uniform (although that is a nice touch). Be conservative in your appearance and hair style. Remember, even in your own business you are not completely your own boss — the customer is. Often the job goes to the person the customer felt most comfortable about.
Look professional. Carry a clipboard to take notes. Have some sort of pre-printed estimate sheet to provide to the customer. Use a brochure (if you can afford it) to describe your services. Have business cards.
If you have done all this, then do not sell yourself short. Charge an appropriate rate. Don’t worry about those who will not pay your price. You only need those who will.
From here on in it is simply a matter of acquiring the work and doing it. Do an excellent job and you will have more work then you can handle. As the work fills up your available work hours start considering your move to leave your present job. Perhaps find a part-time job to fill the gap. Eventually you will have no need for an outside job. Your business will provide for all your needs.
As your business grows you can grow with it. Move carefully and do not overextend yourself. Keep your overhead low. Only spend money when it is an investment that will return profits. Eventually you may hire employees, salespeople, rent an office, etc., but by that time you should be making enough money to afford it.
Once you have started and are moving successfully forward, your next problem will be growth and how you handle it. Rapid growth has killed many businesses. But if you keep a close eye on your books, watch which jobs are profitable and which are not, know exactly why and where you are making money or losing money then you should have no trouble.
Good Luck!
http://www.progardenbiz.com/
Statistics show that nine out of every ten new businesses fail. Most of these businesses fail within the first year. The rest don’t make it past their third anniversary. Given such dismal odds why would you want to start a landscaping or interiorscaping business?
First of all because the odds are better than you think. Landscaping and interiorscaping are service businesses. A service business is the most easy business to start and be successful. The “statistics” usually do not include small service businesses. So, one would hope, your odds are better than you think.
There are other reasons that make starting a service business easier than others. You can start out with low capital investment. You can run your business with low overhead. If you manage your business properly, slow periods will not cause financial hardship.
The reason for most business failures is that they cannot survive slow periods or cash crunches. Other types of businesses have large overheads that require a constant influx of money. Such expenses as employees, rent, loan payments, etc. You can design your business to survive these problems.
These guidelines for starting your own service business are for those who have little or no money to start with. If you have plenty of money (start-up capital) than you can follow these guidelines much easier than the rest of us. So before we get started, remember we are assuming that you have no start-up capital, but are willing to work hard and take a few risks.
First you need to know what you are doing in your new field. A little business knowledge would not hurt either. But you probably do not have time to go back to school. Also, I would imagine you are interested in getting started right away.
So, visit your local book store.
If you know nothing about gardening and landscaping pick up a couple of books that cover the basics. A good book for everyone is Sunset’s Western Garden Book. Not only does it cover all the basics and more, it also has a complete encyclopedia of plants, trees, shrubs, and flowers. Each description tells you what the plant is, how to plant it, care for it, requirements, etc.
If you lack a business background buy some good books on business basics. There are many books on running a small business. Remember, most gardeners, landscapers, or interiorscapers that fail do so, not because they did not know their trade, but because they did not understand how to manage their business. In fact, it is almost more important to understand good business techniques than it is to know about plants.
After you have purchased your small library set aside at least one hour a day (morning, evening, lunch-hour, anytime) to study them. Give yourself as much time as you can to read and study. Be sure to divide your time equally between your business and trade books.
Now, I presume you are currently working at another job to support yourself and possibly a family. Rule Number One: DO NOT QUIT YOUR JOB! Start your business part-time. You need your income to survive on while you build your new business. Your new business will take time to develop to the point where it will support you.
If you have debts (credit cards, auto loans, etc.) try to get them paid off or paid down as much as possible before you start your new business. There will be rough times ahead and you want the decks cleared for heavy weather. In other words, when cash gets tight you do not want to lose your car or be hauled into court.
Acquire the basics you need to get started.
Gardener: A truck or trailer to carry your equipment and debris (although some enterprising people have even started without this). A lawn mower, rake, broom, and other small hand tools. Buy your equipment used if necessary, but shop carefully.
Landscaper: Basically you need hand tools and a truck or trailer. To start with most other tools you can rent.
Interiorscaper: A car or truck is necessary, watering cans, and assorted small hand tools.
From the basic requirements to start it would seem that interiorscaping requires the smallest capital outlay. This is correct, but starting an interiorscape business is more difficult in other ways. It requires a better understanding of the trade. Indoor plants are much more difficult to maintain. Also, acquiring accounts is not as easy as in outdoor work. Most, if not all, interiorscape accounts will be commercial, as opposed to the residential work of gardeners.
For gardeners and landscapers a truck or trailer is a must, but as I mentioned earlier it is possible to start without one for some work. If you are doing maintenance you may be able to get accounts that will allow you to use their equipment and not require you to haul away debris. You will be expected to work very inexpensively, though. If you can get a truck do so.
For both gardeners and landscapers another source of income is from clean-ups. This is simply a one-time job of cleaning up an overgrown landscape. These jobs are hard work, but can be quite profitable.
In every business you have to contend with the government. Service businesses are no different. Before you get started investigate what is required in your area. Most likely you will need a business license from your city. The state may require a contractor’s license or certification for landscape contractors. Most likely your state will require a pest control license if you intend to apply pesticides. Check out all the city, state, and federal rules before you start.
If you can afford it, you should get insurance before you start. If you cannot afford it when you first start your business (remember, some activities, in some states, require insurance) then plan on getting it as soon as possible. It is for your own protection. One lawsuit could ruin all your hard work.
Arrange your work hours so that you have time to start your part-time business. You can start on week-ends, but an ideal schedule would be to have two or three weekdays off and work nights so that you can put in some hours on the other days.
By now you should have the time, equipment, and the knowledge (or working on that by studying). Now you need the work. To get this you need to advertise. How and where you advertise depends on your budget and your market.
For gardeners and landscapers I would recommend that you start with residential work and add commercial work later. For interiorscapers the work is almost all commercial.
To acquire residential work there are several ways. They are presented below in order of cost and are rated for effectiveness.
Word-of-mouth. Recommendations. Cheapest and best, but requires that you already have done some work.
Door-to-door. Cheap, but ineffective and time consuming. If you have no alternatives then pick new areas with new homes and upper income areas.
Flyers. More costly than door-to-door, but no more effective.
Newspaper classified ads. Very effective. Try to use a small direct mail weekly that allows you target specific zip code zones. Weekly direct mail publications with names like Pennysaver, Advisor, etc. are your best bet. Your money will be better spent than in the large city daily.
Yellow pages. Very Expensive. Not a good place to put limited dollars when just getting started, but effective at later stages of your business growth.
Most successful service business that are growing get most of their leads (prospective customers) from word-of-mouth and newspaper ads. A classified in a direct mailed weekly can be as low as $30.00 per zip code zone. I would recommend the type of weekly that consists mainly of classified ads and display ads.
To acquire commercial work is completely different. This requires print advertising in local business magazines or upscale monthly magazines that reach the upper income people in your city. It also requires direct mail campaigns to the businesses you are trying attract as customers and direct (door-to-door) solicitation. An ad in the Yellow Pages is a must for attracting commercial work.
If you advertise in the Yellow Pages use the phone company Yellow Pages and not an imitation. You money will be much better spent.
Once you start advertising you will not immediately get work. First you must bid on the job, that is give the prospective customer a summary of what you intend to do and what it will cost. This is the part that will make or break you.
The lowest price does not always get the job. In fact, we don’t recommend trying to get work by price alone. Charge what you are worth, what you what, and what quality work will pay in your market. Let the competition work for less. The person that gets the job is usually the person who gives the most professional presentation. This means knowing what you are doing. Being able to estimate the time and materials necessary for the job. Presenting yourself and your service in a professional way.
Always be on time for a bid. Never miss a bid (if something does come up, call and change the appointment). I won more jobs because nobody else showed up then you would care to know about. Just being there is half the battle.
Dress neatly. Wear a uniform, if possible. Sears sells uniform shirts and pants in many different colors. It does not have to have your company name on it to look like a uniform (although that is a nice touch). Be conservative in your appearance and hair style. Remember, even in your own business you are not completely your own boss — the customer is. Often the job goes to the person the customer felt most comfortable about.
Look professional. Carry a clipboard to take notes. Have some sort of pre-printed estimate sheet to provide to the customer. Use a brochure (if you can afford it) to describe your services. Have business cards.
If you have done all this, then do not sell yourself short. Charge an appropriate rate. Don’t worry about those who will not pay your price. You only need those who will.
From here on in it is simply a matter of acquiring the work and doing it. Do an excellent job and you will have more work then you can handle. As the work fills up your available work hours start considering your move to leave your present job. Perhaps find a part-time job to fill the gap. Eventually you will have no need for an outside job. Your business will provide for all your needs.
As your business grows you can grow with it. Move carefully and do not overextend yourself. Keep your overhead low. Only spend money when it is an investment that will return profits. Eventually you may hire employees, salespeople, rent an office, etc., but by that time you should be making enough money to afford it.
Once you have started and are moving successfully forward, your next problem will be growth and how you handle it. Rapid growth has killed many businesses. But if you keep a close eye on your books, watch which jobs are profitable and which are not, know exactly why and where you are making money or losing money then you should have no trouble.
Good Luck!
http://www.progardenbiz.com/
How to Successfully Fertilize Your Garden in the Fall by udora DeWynter
Question: What promoted the growth and health of a beautiful spring garden? Answer: Knowing how to fertilize and prepare it in the fall. Good gardening fertilization techniques in the fall is essential to a healthy garden come next spring. Know what the letters and numbers on the packaging labels mean is a good start and a fact that one should know.
Knowing that the N represents the amount of nitrogen and that nitrogen promotes a good healthy growth of the plants foliage. P represents the amounts of phosphorus which will aid stimulate and promote good root growth while K represents the potassium levels for the cell functions and a healthy plant.
Sometime cooler weather will make plants seem dead or dormant when they are not, their roots are only growing and then is a good time to fertilize with a high phosphorus fertilizer to help assure yourself that your plants will have a strong root system next spring.
When there is an early frost in the fall this helps plants to produce higher levels of amino acids which will help them to resist freezing and making them hardier when the winter temperatures drop. As you start your fall fertilization remember that different plants have different needs such as perennials, your spring bulbs and your roses.
Perennial love a high phosphate fertilizer with low nitrogen content and fertilizing with this type will give you a lovely array of blossoms at blooming time. In September or October plant your spring bulbs such as tulips and daffodils and feed them with a phosphorus fertilizer at the root level to help get them established before the winter sets in.
As I plant I like to add a little compost as food being sure to plant with the tips up and in a manner that the hole is at least 4 times the height of the bulb. Now is not a good time to fertilize roses, they should be fertilized and cut back after the have gone dormant for the winter.
Fertilizing in the fall only promotes and encourages new growth or simply cut them back and feed them well in the spring when new foliage begins to appear. After fertilizing with a granular time released fertilizer and raking it good into the ground it is a good idea to apply a layer of mulch, then water well allowing it to soak into the ground. A good fall fertilization of your garden will definitely pay off when next spring finally arrives.
About the Author
Eudora DeWynter offers tips on Fall Gardening Tips on her blog athttp:www.gardentoolguru.com
Knowing that the N represents the amount of nitrogen and that nitrogen promotes a good healthy growth of the plants foliage. P represents the amounts of phosphorus which will aid stimulate and promote good root growth while K represents the potassium levels for the cell functions and a healthy plant.
Sometime cooler weather will make plants seem dead or dormant when they are not, their roots are only growing and then is a good time to fertilize with a high phosphorus fertilizer to help assure yourself that your plants will have a strong root system next spring.
When there is an early frost in the fall this helps plants to produce higher levels of amino acids which will help them to resist freezing and making them hardier when the winter temperatures drop. As you start your fall fertilization remember that different plants have different needs such as perennials, your spring bulbs and your roses.
Perennial love a high phosphate fertilizer with low nitrogen content and fertilizing with this type will give you a lovely array of blossoms at blooming time. In September or October plant your spring bulbs such as tulips and daffodils and feed them with a phosphorus fertilizer at the root level to help get them established before the winter sets in.
As I plant I like to add a little compost as food being sure to plant with the tips up and in a manner that the hole is at least 4 times the height of the bulb. Now is not a good time to fertilize roses, they should be fertilized and cut back after the have gone dormant for the winter.
Fertilizing in the fall only promotes and encourages new growth or simply cut them back and feed them well in the spring when new foliage begins to appear. After fertilizing with a granular time released fertilizer and raking it good into the ground it is a good idea to apply a layer of mulch, then water well allowing it to soak into the ground. A good fall fertilization of your garden will definitely pay off when next spring finally arrives.
About the Author
Eudora DeWynter offers tips on Fall Gardening Tips on her blog athttp:www.gardentoolguru.com
Fall Gardening - Do's & Don'ts by Andy Asbury
We've been trained to believe that certain gardening chores must happen in the fall, or face the risk of an unproductive garden next in the following year. Indeed, some tasks are better taken on in the fall, but contrary to common belief, others can be put off or left out altogether.
Here is a list of some of the fall season do's and don'ts to help your garden thrive in the coming year.
DO clean out any annuals or dead plants in the fall if you don't want to face them in the spring.
DON'T remove dead plants if you want to maintain some vegetation in your garden over the winter. Keep in mind that they will break down over the winter providing compost for your garden. In the spring, simply turn the soil over and they will magically disappear.
DO pull existing weeds in the fall, along with diseased, insect damaged foliage, or rotten fruit or vegetables.
DO wash out your pots and store them away for next season.
DO continue to water your garden and trees until the ground starts to freeze. After our dry summer, even the trees need the extra water to give them the strength to face cold winter months.
DON'T feel the need to mulch all your plants. It does help keep the soil at an even temperature through the winter, and helps to retain moisture, but it is only really necessary for your delicate plants.
DO rake your lawn. Some feel that the leaves will decompose by next spring, so why bother. Raking helps to keep your lawn healthy by improving air circulation and prevent your grass from dying. In addition, the leaves make excellent mulch for the rest of the garden.
DON'T rake if you have only a thin layer of leaves that can be mowed into little pieces.
DO water and fertilize your lawn. Feed your grass at the end of October and it will be better equipped to face the winter months, and healthier in the new season.
DO plant spring bulbs and garlic in the fall. You'll appreciate seeing colorful crocus and daffodils popping up after a long cold winter. Planting garlic in the fall means you can harvest it next July.
DO bring in any plants that won't survive over the winter. Trim your geraniums to about 4 inches in length and store them in a dark, cool location. Shake off any dirt from the roots and dust with sulfur. Next February, repot and place in a sunny window.
DON'T fertilize grass that has been ravaged by drought. In otherwords, this summer, if your lawn was the one in the neighborhood that looked like straw - skip the fertilizer and water it instead.
DO continue to mow your lawn, leaving it about 2 1/2 inches long as winter approaches. Leaving it too long can cause snow mold which may kill your grass.
DO wash off your shovels and garden tools, and make any necessary repairs to ready them for next spring. Now is the time to sand and oil the wood handles with linseed oil. Clean the metal surfaces with a wire brush, sharpen the cutting edges, and apply oil to prevent rust.
About the Author
For information about Minneapolis real estate, visit MinnesotaLoftsAndCondos.com. There you can search all Minneapolis condos for rent, in addition to getting the latest market information for the Twin Cities area.
Here is a list of some of the fall season do's and don'ts to help your garden thrive in the coming year.
DO clean out any annuals or dead plants in the fall if you don't want to face them in the spring.
DON'T remove dead plants if you want to maintain some vegetation in your garden over the winter. Keep in mind that they will break down over the winter providing compost for your garden. In the spring, simply turn the soil over and they will magically disappear.
DO pull existing weeds in the fall, along with diseased, insect damaged foliage, or rotten fruit or vegetables.
DO wash out your pots and store them away for next season.
DO continue to water your garden and trees until the ground starts to freeze. After our dry summer, even the trees need the extra water to give them the strength to face cold winter months.
DON'T feel the need to mulch all your plants. It does help keep the soil at an even temperature through the winter, and helps to retain moisture, but it is only really necessary for your delicate plants.
DO rake your lawn. Some feel that the leaves will decompose by next spring, so why bother. Raking helps to keep your lawn healthy by improving air circulation and prevent your grass from dying. In addition, the leaves make excellent mulch for the rest of the garden.
DON'T rake if you have only a thin layer of leaves that can be mowed into little pieces.
DO water and fertilize your lawn. Feed your grass at the end of October and it will be better equipped to face the winter months, and healthier in the new season.
DO plant spring bulbs and garlic in the fall. You'll appreciate seeing colorful crocus and daffodils popping up after a long cold winter. Planting garlic in the fall means you can harvest it next July.
DO bring in any plants that won't survive over the winter. Trim your geraniums to about 4 inches in length and store them in a dark, cool location. Shake off any dirt from the roots and dust with sulfur. Next February, repot and place in a sunny window.
DON'T fertilize grass that has been ravaged by drought. In otherwords, this summer, if your lawn was the one in the neighborhood that looked like straw - skip the fertilizer and water it instead.
DO continue to mow your lawn, leaving it about 2 1/2 inches long as winter approaches. Leaving it too long can cause snow mold which may kill your grass.
DO wash off your shovels and garden tools, and make any necessary repairs to ready them for next spring. Now is the time to sand and oil the wood handles with linseed oil. Clean the metal surfaces with a wire brush, sharpen the cutting edges, and apply oil to prevent rust.
About the Author
For information about Minneapolis real estate, visit MinnesotaLoftsAndCondos.com. There you can search all Minneapolis condos for rent, in addition to getting the latest market information for the Twin Cities area.
September Garden Tips
Article By: Gary Guzman
Well it is now September, and the mornings are great aren't they? It is now beginning to be the best time to plant trees and shrubs. It is a great time because the above ground temperatures are dropping and the below ground temps are still warm.
This helps plants get a jump on next spring because the roots still develope in the warm soil while the tops slow down in growth. Also, there are less winds and typically more moisture during this time of year, which of course reduces stress on newly planted shrubs and trees. You should be able to plant just about anything, including pansies, (which will last thru next May) mums, winter veggies (starts), most trees and shrubs.
There are a few exceptions: Palm trees might be better planted in the spring and summer, in order to get a good root establishment before the winter sets in. (For the lower elevations of the southwestern U.S. States)
Oleanders may experience some winter kill if planted too late in the season, especially the 1 gallon size. The larger sizes seem to suffer the least winter kill. This is usually for the the first winter, after that they will have even less winter or no winter kill as they age. Using a winterizer fertilizer with plenty of potash will help increase winter hardiness just about all shrubs and trees.
It is recommended for valuable plants that may suffer from winter damage. Use this product before October 30th. Don't forget to use compost, peat moss, or soil builder and root stimulator on all plantings, and make sure plants have adequate water.
About the Author
Gary Guzman Owner of Guzman's Greenhouse and Color your world Nurseries. Website: http://guzmansgreenhouse.com email: manager@guzmansgreenhouse.com
Well it is now September, and the mornings are great aren't they? It is now beginning to be the best time to plant trees and shrubs. It is a great time because the above ground temperatures are dropping and the below ground temps are still warm.
This helps plants get a jump on next spring because the roots still develope in the warm soil while the tops slow down in growth. Also, there are less winds and typically more moisture during this time of year, which of course reduces stress on newly planted shrubs and trees. You should be able to plant just about anything, including pansies, (which will last thru next May) mums, winter veggies (starts), most trees and shrubs.
There are a few exceptions: Palm trees might be better planted in the spring and summer, in order to get a good root establishment before the winter sets in. (For the lower elevations of the southwestern U.S. States)
Oleanders may experience some winter kill if planted too late in the season, especially the 1 gallon size. The larger sizes seem to suffer the least winter kill. This is usually for the the first winter, after that they will have even less winter or no winter kill as they age. Using a winterizer fertilizer with plenty of potash will help increase winter hardiness just about all shrubs and trees.
It is recommended for valuable plants that may suffer from winter damage. Use this product before October 30th. Don't forget to use compost, peat moss, or soil builder and root stimulator on all plantings, and make sure plants have adequate water.
About the Author
Gary Guzman Owner of Guzman's Greenhouse and Color your world Nurseries. Website: http://guzmansgreenhouse.com email: manager@guzmansgreenhouse.com
How to Grow Ornamental Grasses
Ornamental grasses have become extremely popular in the past ten years or so, and if you buy them at a garden center they are kind of pricey. Learning how to grow them yourself is actually quite easy. They can be grown from seed, but I won’t pretend to be an expert at that for several reasons. One, I don’t know anything about growing them from seed, and two, I have no desire to propagate them from seed because seedlings require too much care.
The easiest and most effective way to propagate them is through simple division. Of course you will need at least one parent plant of each variety that you would like to grow. If you shop around you might be able to find some 4” inch pots at a fair price.
One of each variety is good for a start. I find that the best time of the year to divide them is in the spring, just before the new growth emerges. If you buy the stock plants in the early spring, you might be able to divide them right away. If you buy them at any other time of the year, just plant them in your garden or other suitable location, knowing that you are going to dig them up in a few months, or a year or so.
When spring arrives you can divide them at any time as long as they are not well into putting on new growth. The earlier the better. To divide them simply dig up the root mass and start dividing it into pieces. The divisions do not have to be to be very large. It’ difficult to describe, but as long as you have some roots, the new plant is likely to grow.
If you have small young plants you can probably just tear the root mass apart with your hands, but if the root mass is very big then you are going to need some tools. You might need some heavy duty tools!
Last spring I divided several grass plants that had been in my landscape for a few years. When I dug out the root mass it was much larger and more dense than I expected. Using a very good digging spade and some real elbow power I was able to chop the root mass into quarters, and I replanted the quarters back into my landscape. That still left many clumps that I wanted to divide into very small plants that I could pot up in 2 quart containers.
The root mass was too dense to tear apart with my hands, so I literally got a hammer and a 4” wide mason’s chisel and chiseled off pieces. It worked and I now have a couple of hundred beautiful little grass plants in 2 quart containers.
Since then I have talked with a friend of mine who works for a large wholesale grower, and he told me that you never want to let an ornamental grass plant get that big if you intend to divide it. He said they plant small divisions in the field in the spring, and dig them up the following spring and divide them again. He assured me that if you get them just 12 months later, they can be easily torn apart by hand.
That sounds like a lot more fun than what I went through!
Michael J. McGroarty is the author of this article. Visit his most interesting website, http://www.freeplants.com/ and sign up for his excellent gardening newsletter, and grab a FREE copy of his E-book, "Easy Plant Propagation"
The easiest and most effective way to propagate them is through simple division. Of course you will need at least one parent plant of each variety that you would like to grow. If you shop around you might be able to find some 4” inch pots at a fair price.
One of each variety is good for a start. I find that the best time of the year to divide them is in the spring, just before the new growth emerges. If you buy the stock plants in the early spring, you might be able to divide them right away. If you buy them at any other time of the year, just plant them in your garden or other suitable location, knowing that you are going to dig them up in a few months, or a year or so.
When spring arrives you can divide them at any time as long as they are not well into putting on new growth. The earlier the better. To divide them simply dig up the root mass and start dividing it into pieces. The divisions do not have to be to be very large. It’ difficult to describe, but as long as you have some roots, the new plant is likely to grow.
If you have small young plants you can probably just tear the root mass apart with your hands, but if the root mass is very big then you are going to need some tools. You might need some heavy duty tools!
Last spring I divided several grass plants that had been in my landscape for a few years. When I dug out the root mass it was much larger and more dense than I expected. Using a very good digging spade and some real elbow power I was able to chop the root mass into quarters, and I replanted the quarters back into my landscape. That still left many clumps that I wanted to divide into very small plants that I could pot up in 2 quart containers.
The root mass was too dense to tear apart with my hands, so I literally got a hammer and a 4” wide mason’s chisel and chiseled off pieces. It worked and I now have a couple of hundred beautiful little grass plants in 2 quart containers.
Since then I have talked with a friend of mine who works for a large wholesale grower, and he told me that you never want to let an ornamental grass plant get that big if you intend to divide it. He said they plant small divisions in the field in the spring, and dig them up the following spring and divide them again. He assured me that if you get them just 12 months later, they can be easily torn apart by hand.
That sounds like a lot more fun than what I went through!
Michael J. McGroarty is the author of this article. Visit his most interesting website, http://www.freeplants.com/ and sign up for his excellent gardening newsletter, and grab a FREE copy of his E-book, "Easy Plant Propagation"
Pruning Weeping Cherry Trees and other Grafted and Budded Plants
What do the terms grafting and budding mean?
Budding is a form of grafting. Grafting is the art of attaching a piece of one plant to another plant, creating a new plant. Grafting is usually done because the desired plant is extremely difficult if not impossible to propagate through other means. Dogwoods for example are easily grown from seed, however, it is next to impossible to grow a pink dogwood from seed. The seeds from a Pink Dogwood will produce seedlings that are likely to flower white.
The most common method for producing Pink Dogwood trees is to remove a single bud from a Pink Dogwood tree and slip it under the bark of a White Dogwood seedling. This process is known as budding, and the seedling is known as the rootstock. This is usually done during the late summer months when the bark of the White Dogwood seedling can be easily separated from the tree, and the seedling is about 1/4” in diameter.
A very small “T” shaped cut is made in the bark only, and the bud is slipped in the slot. The actual bud itself is allowed to poke out through the opening and then the wound is wrapped with a rubber band both above and below the bud. By the following spring the bud will have grafted itself to the seedling, at which time the seedling is cut off just above the Pink Dogwood bud, and the bud then grows into a Pink Dogwood tree.
Budding is usually done at ground level, and often times the rootstock will send up shoots from below the bud union. These shoots often called suckers should removed as soon as they appear because they are from the rootstock and are not the same variety as the rest of the plant. Flowering Crabapples are also budded and are notorious for producing suckers. When removing these suckers don’t just clip them off at ground level with pruning shears, they will just grow back. Pull back the soil or mulch and remove them from the tree completely at the point where they emerge from the stem.
Most people clip them off a couple of inches from the ground, and then they grow back with multiple shoots. This drives me crazy! Get down as low as you can and remove them completely and you will keep them under control. On older trees that have been improperly pruned for years I take a digging spade and literally attack these suckers hacking them away from the stem. Sure this does a little damage to the stem of the tree, but when a plant is let go like that I figure it’s a do or die situation. The trees always survive and thrive.
Other plants are grafted up high to create a weeping effect. One of the most popular trees that is grafted up high is the top graft Weeping Cherry. In this case the seedling is allowed to grow to a height of 5’, then the weeping variety is grafted on to the rootstock at a height of about 5’. This creates an umbrella type effect. In this case the graft union is 5’ off the ground, therefore anything that grows from the stem below that graft union must be removed.
Many people don’t understand this and before they know it they have a branch 2” in diameter growing up through the weeping canopy of their tree. Before you know it there are several branches growing upright through the canopy and the effect of the plant is completely ruined.
The two photos below show exactly what I'm talking about in this article. You can clearly see the weeping effect that the Weeping Cherry tree is supposed to have, but then up through the middle come these branches that are no more than just suckers from the stem, or the rootstock as it is known in the nursery industry.
Looking closely at the above photo you can see that these suckers originate from below the graft union. This problem could have been prevented if someone had just picked off these buds when they first emerged on the stem of the tree. Then they would have never developed into branches.
This tree can still be saved, but there will be a large scar on the stem when the upright branches are pruned off. But under the canopy of the weeping tree these scars will never show.
Another interesting plant that is grafted is the Weeping Cotoneaster. In this case the seedling that is grown to serve as the rootstock is Paul’s Scarlet Hawthorn, and Cotoneaster Apiculata is grafted onto the Hawthorn rootstock at a height of 5’. Years ago a nurseryman found through experimentation that these two plants are actually compatible, and a beautiful and unique plant was created. I have one of these in my landscape and we love it.
Once again since the graft union is at 5’, any growth coming from the stem (rootstock) must be removed. In this case the growth coming from the rootstock will be Hawthorn and will look completely different from the Cotoneaster which is what the plant is supposed to be. The easiest way to keep up with this type of pruning is to keep an eye on your grafted plants when you’re in the yard. As soon as you see new growth coming from below the graft union, just pick up it off with your finger nail.
If you catch these new buds when they first emerge, pruning them off is as easy as that. Walk around your yard and look for grafted or budded plants, and see if you can find any that have growth that doesn’t seem to match the rest of the plant. Look closely and you may find that the growth is coming from below a graft or bud union.
Michael J. McGroarty is the author of this article. Visit his most interesting website, www.freeplants.com and sign up for his excellent gardening newsletter, and grab a FREE copy of his E-book, "Easy Plant Propagation"
Budding is a form of grafting. Grafting is the art of attaching a piece of one plant to another plant, creating a new plant. Grafting is usually done because the desired plant is extremely difficult if not impossible to propagate through other means. Dogwoods for example are easily grown from seed, however, it is next to impossible to grow a pink dogwood from seed. The seeds from a Pink Dogwood will produce seedlings that are likely to flower white.
The most common method for producing Pink Dogwood trees is to remove a single bud from a Pink Dogwood tree and slip it under the bark of a White Dogwood seedling. This process is known as budding, and the seedling is known as the rootstock. This is usually done during the late summer months when the bark of the White Dogwood seedling can be easily separated from the tree, and the seedling is about 1/4” in diameter.
A very small “T” shaped cut is made in the bark only, and the bud is slipped in the slot. The actual bud itself is allowed to poke out through the opening and then the wound is wrapped with a rubber band both above and below the bud. By the following spring the bud will have grafted itself to the seedling, at which time the seedling is cut off just above the Pink Dogwood bud, and the bud then grows into a Pink Dogwood tree.
Budding is usually done at ground level, and often times the rootstock will send up shoots from below the bud union. These shoots often called suckers should removed as soon as they appear because they are from the rootstock and are not the same variety as the rest of the plant. Flowering Crabapples are also budded and are notorious for producing suckers. When removing these suckers don’t just clip them off at ground level with pruning shears, they will just grow back. Pull back the soil or mulch and remove them from the tree completely at the point where they emerge from the stem.
Most people clip them off a couple of inches from the ground, and then they grow back with multiple shoots. This drives me crazy! Get down as low as you can and remove them completely and you will keep them under control. On older trees that have been improperly pruned for years I take a digging spade and literally attack these suckers hacking them away from the stem. Sure this does a little damage to the stem of the tree, but when a plant is let go like that I figure it’s a do or die situation. The trees always survive and thrive.
Other plants are grafted up high to create a weeping effect. One of the most popular trees that is grafted up high is the top graft Weeping Cherry. In this case the seedling is allowed to grow to a height of 5’, then the weeping variety is grafted on to the rootstock at a height of about 5’. This creates an umbrella type effect. In this case the graft union is 5’ off the ground, therefore anything that grows from the stem below that graft union must be removed.
Many people don’t understand this and before they know it they have a branch 2” in diameter growing up through the weeping canopy of their tree. Before you know it there are several branches growing upright through the canopy and the effect of the plant is completely ruined.
The two photos below show exactly what I'm talking about in this article. You can clearly see the weeping effect that the Weeping Cherry tree is supposed to have, but then up through the middle come these branches that are no more than just suckers from the stem, or the rootstock as it is known in the nursery industry.
Looking closely at the above photo you can see that these suckers originate from below the graft union. This problem could have been prevented if someone had just picked off these buds when they first emerged on the stem of the tree. Then they would have never developed into branches.
This tree can still be saved, but there will be a large scar on the stem when the upright branches are pruned off. But under the canopy of the weeping tree these scars will never show.
Another interesting plant that is grafted is the Weeping Cotoneaster. In this case the seedling that is grown to serve as the rootstock is Paul’s Scarlet Hawthorn, and Cotoneaster Apiculata is grafted onto the Hawthorn rootstock at a height of 5’. Years ago a nurseryman found through experimentation that these two plants are actually compatible, and a beautiful and unique plant was created. I have one of these in my landscape and we love it.
Once again since the graft union is at 5’, any growth coming from the stem (rootstock) must be removed. In this case the growth coming from the rootstock will be Hawthorn and will look completely different from the Cotoneaster which is what the plant is supposed to be. The easiest way to keep up with this type of pruning is to keep an eye on your grafted plants when you’re in the yard. As soon as you see new growth coming from below the graft union, just pick up it off with your finger nail.
If you catch these new buds when they first emerge, pruning them off is as easy as that. Walk around your yard and look for grafted or budded plants, and see if you can find any that have growth that doesn’t seem to match the rest of the plant. Look closely and you may find that the growth is coming from below a graft or bud union.
Michael J. McGroarty is the author of this article. Visit his most interesting website, www.freeplants.com and sign up for his excellent gardening newsletter, and grab a FREE copy of his E-book, "Easy Plant Propagation"
Cool Garden Caddy!
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We were recently sent a link to check out the Garden and Tool Caddy. I'm not one to promote new garden products but this is one cool Caddy! It has both a curved and straight side so it can easily fit on a number of workstations while gardening. The Garden & Tool Caddy hooks onto most round 32-55 gallon trash cans, square yard waste bins, and most wheelbarrows. There is just one size and six different colors. (I guess everyone has designer colors these days) Whats nice about this caddy is that it's lightweight (apx. 2lbs) but holds everything you could ever need out in the garden. Check out their website at http://www.gardentoolcaddy.com/. They also have a fan page on Facebook with more than 70 followers so it must be cool! www.facebook.com/pages/Garden-Tool-Caddy/75499432286.
Easy Fall Propagation Techniques
As a home gardener, fall should be a very special time for you. Fall is the best season of the year for plant propagation, especially for home gardeners who do not have the luxury of intermittent mist. The technique that I am going to describe here can be equally effective for evergreens as well as many deciduous plants.
The old rule of thumb was to start doing hardwood cuttings of evergreens after you have experienced at at least two hard freezes. After two hard freezes the plants are completely dormant. However, based on my experience it is beneficial to start doing your evergreen cuttings earlier than that. So instead of doing “by the book” hardwood cuttings you’re actually working with semi-hardwood cuttings. The down side to starting your cuttings early is that they will have to be watered daily unless you experience rain showers. The up side is that they will start rooting sooner, and therefore are better rooted when you pull them out to transplant them.
To prepare an area in which to root cuttings you must first select a site. An area that is about 50% shaded will work great. Full sun will work, it just requires that you tend to the cuttings more often. Clear all grass or other vegetation from the area that you have selected. The size of the area is up to you. Realistically, you can fit about one cutting per square inch of bed area. You might need a little more area per cutting, it depends on how close you stick the cuttings in the sand.
Once you have an area cleared off all you have to do is build a wooden frame and lay it on the ground in the area that you cleared. Your frame is a simple as four 2 by 4’s or four 2 by 6’s nailed together at each corner. It will be open on the top and open on the bottom. Just lay it on the ground in the cleared area, and fill it with a coarse grade of sand.
This sand should be clean (no mud or weed seed), and much coarser than the sand used in play box. Visit your local builders supply center and view each sand pile they have. They should have different grades varying from very fine to very coarse. You don’t want either. You want something a little more coarse than their medium grade. But then again it’s not rocket science, so don’t get all worked up trying to find just the right grade. Actually, bagged swimming pool filter sand also works and should be available at discount home centers.
Once your wooden frame is on the ground and filled with sand, you’re ready to start sticking cuttings. Wet the sand the day before you start, that will make it possible for you to make a slit in the sand that won’t fill right in. In this propagation box you can do all kinds of cuttings, but I would start with the evergreens first. Taxus, Junipers, and Arborvitae.
Make the cuttings about 4” long and remove the needles from the bottom two thirds of the cuttings. Dip them in a rooting compound and stick them in the sand about an inch or so. Most garden centers sell rooting compounds. Just tell them that you are rooting hardwood cuttings of evergreens.
When you make the Arborvitae cuttings you can actually remove large branches from an Arborvitae and just tear them apart and get hundreds of cuttings from one branch. When you tear them apart that leaves a small heel on the bottom of the cutting. Leave this heel on. It represents a wounded area, and the cutting will produce more roots because of this wound.
Once the weather gets colder and you have experienced at least one good hard freeze, the deciduous plants should be dormant and will have dropped their leaves, and you can now propagate them. Just make cuttings about 4” long, dip them in a rooting compound and stick them in the bed of sand. Not everything will root this way, but a lot of things will, and it takes little effort to find out what will work and what won’t.
This is a short list of just some of the things that root fine this way. Taxus, Juniper, Arborvitae, Japanese Holly, Blue Boy/Girl Holly, Boxwood, Cypress, Forsythia, Rose of Sharon, Sandcherry, Weigela, Red Twig Dogwood, Variegated Euonymus, Cotoneaster, Privet, and Viburnum.
Immediately after sticking the cuttings thoroughly soak the sand to make sure there are no air pockets around the cuttings. Keep the cuttings watered once or twice daily as long as the weather is warm. Once winter sets it you can stop watering, but if you get a warm dry spell, water during that time.
Start watering again in the spring and throughout out the summer. The cuttings should be rooted by late spring and you can cut back on the water, but don’t let them dry out to the point that they burn up.
By fall you can transplant them to a bed and grow them on for a year or two, or
you can plant them in their permanent location. This technique takes 12 months, but it is simple and easy.
http://www.freeplants.com
The old rule of thumb was to start doing hardwood cuttings of evergreens after you have experienced at at least two hard freezes. After two hard freezes the plants are completely dormant. However, based on my experience it is beneficial to start doing your evergreen cuttings earlier than that. So instead of doing “by the book” hardwood cuttings you’re actually working with semi-hardwood cuttings. The down side to starting your cuttings early is that they will have to be watered daily unless you experience rain showers. The up side is that they will start rooting sooner, and therefore are better rooted when you pull them out to transplant them.
To prepare an area in which to root cuttings you must first select a site. An area that is about 50% shaded will work great. Full sun will work, it just requires that you tend to the cuttings more often. Clear all grass or other vegetation from the area that you have selected. The size of the area is up to you. Realistically, you can fit about one cutting per square inch of bed area. You might need a little more area per cutting, it depends on how close you stick the cuttings in the sand.
Once you have an area cleared off all you have to do is build a wooden frame and lay it on the ground in the area that you cleared. Your frame is a simple as four 2 by 4’s or four 2 by 6’s nailed together at each corner. It will be open on the top and open on the bottom. Just lay it on the ground in the cleared area, and fill it with a coarse grade of sand.
This sand should be clean (no mud or weed seed), and much coarser than the sand used in play box. Visit your local builders supply center and view each sand pile they have. They should have different grades varying from very fine to very coarse. You don’t want either. You want something a little more coarse than their medium grade. But then again it’s not rocket science, so don’t get all worked up trying to find just the right grade. Actually, bagged swimming pool filter sand also works and should be available at discount home centers.
Once your wooden frame is on the ground and filled with sand, you’re ready to start sticking cuttings. Wet the sand the day before you start, that will make it possible for you to make a slit in the sand that won’t fill right in. In this propagation box you can do all kinds of cuttings, but I would start with the evergreens first. Taxus, Junipers, and Arborvitae.
Make the cuttings about 4” long and remove the needles from the bottom two thirds of the cuttings. Dip them in a rooting compound and stick them in the sand about an inch or so. Most garden centers sell rooting compounds. Just tell them that you are rooting hardwood cuttings of evergreens.
When you make the Arborvitae cuttings you can actually remove large branches from an Arborvitae and just tear them apart and get hundreds of cuttings from one branch. When you tear them apart that leaves a small heel on the bottom of the cutting. Leave this heel on. It represents a wounded area, and the cutting will produce more roots because of this wound.
Once the weather gets colder and you have experienced at least one good hard freeze, the deciduous plants should be dormant and will have dropped their leaves, and you can now propagate them. Just make cuttings about 4” long, dip them in a rooting compound and stick them in the bed of sand. Not everything will root this way, but a lot of things will, and it takes little effort to find out what will work and what won’t.
This is a short list of just some of the things that root fine this way. Taxus, Juniper, Arborvitae, Japanese Holly, Blue Boy/Girl Holly, Boxwood, Cypress, Forsythia, Rose of Sharon, Sandcherry, Weigela, Red Twig Dogwood, Variegated Euonymus, Cotoneaster, Privet, and Viburnum.
Immediately after sticking the cuttings thoroughly soak the sand to make sure there are no air pockets around the cuttings. Keep the cuttings watered once or twice daily as long as the weather is warm. Once winter sets it you can stop watering, but if you get a warm dry spell, water during that time.
Start watering again in the spring and throughout out the summer. The cuttings should be rooted by late spring and you can cut back on the water, but don’t let them dry out to the point that they burn up.
By fall you can transplant them to a bed and grow them on for a year or two, or
you can plant them in their permanent location. This technique takes 12 months, but it is simple and easy.
http://www.freeplants.com
Tree Pruning Tips
There are two kinds of winter gardening. The first method usually starts in January as the gardening catalogs begin to arrive in the mail. This type of gardening is as easy and sitting in your favorite chair, browsing the catalogs, and either dreaming about what you're going to do this spring, or actually drawing designs for the gardens you intend to work on.
The second type of winter gardening is to actually get out in the yard+(2).jpg)
and do a little work. Of course if it's bitter cold, you'd be better off waiting for a good day. Winter is a good time to do some pruning if the temperatures are around 30 degrees or so. I don't recommend pruning if it's considerably below freezing because the wood is brittle and will shatter when you make a cut.
One of the advantages of pruning during the winter is that you can see much better what needs to be cut out and what should stay. At least that's true with deciduous plants. The other advantage is that the plants are dormant, and won't mind you doing a little work on them.
Ornamental trees should pruned to remove competing branches. Weeping Cherries, Flowering Dogwoods, Flowering Crabapples etc. have a tendency to send branches in many different directions. It is your job to decide how you want the plant to look, and then start pruning to achieve that look.
But first stick your head inside the tree and see what you can eliminate from there. This is like looking under the hood, and when you do you'll see a lot of small branches that have been starved of sunlight, that certainly don't add anything to the plant, they are just there, and should be cut out. Any branch that is growing toward the center of the tree where it will get little sunlight should be cut out. Where there are two branches that are crossing, one of them should be eliminated. Once you get the inside of the plant cleaned up, you can start shaping the outside.
Shaping the outside is actually quite easy. Just picture how you want the plant to look, and picture imaginary lines of the finished outline of the plant. Cut off anything that is outside of these imaginary lines. It is also important to cut the tips of branches that have not yet reached these imaginary lines in order to force the plant to fill out.
For the most part plants have two kinds of growth. Terminal branches and lateral branches. Each branch has one terminal bud at the very end, and many lateral branches along the sides. The terminal buds grow in an outward direction away from the plant. Left uncut they just keep growing in the same direction, and the plant grows tall and very thin. That's why the trees in the woods are so thin and not very attractive.
When you cut a branch on a plant, the plant sets new buds just below where you cut. When you remove the terminal bud the plant will set multiple buds, this is how you make a plant nice and full. Don't be afraid to trim your plants, they will be much nicer because of it. The more you trim them, the fuller they become.
Lots of people have a real problem with this. They just can't bring themselves to prune. Especially when it comes to plants like Japanese Red Maples. It kills them to even think about pruning a plant like this. Just do it! You'll have a beautiful plant because of it.
Look at the plant objectively. If you see a branch that looks like it's growing to far in the wrong direction, cut it. If you make a mistake it will grow back. Not pruning is the only mistake you can make. I hope this helps and doesn't get you in trouble with your significant other. Many a family feud has started over pruning.
http://www.freeplants.com/
The second type of winter gardening is to actually get out in the yard
and do a little work. Of course if it's bitter cold, you'd be better off waiting for a good day. Winter is a good time to do some pruning if the temperatures are around 30 degrees or so. I don't recommend pruning if it's considerably below freezing because the wood is brittle and will shatter when you make a cut.One of the advantages of pruning during the winter is that you can see much better what needs to be cut out and what should stay. At least that's true with deciduous plants. The other advantage is that the plants are dormant, and won't mind you doing a little work on them.
Ornamental trees should pruned to remove competing branches. Weeping Cherries, Flowering Dogwoods, Flowering Crabapples etc. have a tendency to send branches in many different directions. It is your job to decide how you want the plant to look, and then start pruning to achieve that look.
But first stick your head inside the tree and see what you can eliminate from there. This is like looking under the hood, and when you do you'll see a lot of small branches that have been starved of sunlight, that certainly don't add anything to the plant, they are just there, and should be cut out. Any branch that is growing toward the center of the tree where it will get little sunlight should be cut out. Where there are two branches that are crossing, one of them should be eliminated. Once you get the inside of the plant cleaned up, you can start shaping the outside.
Shaping the outside is actually quite easy. Just picture how you want the plant to look, and picture imaginary lines of the finished outline of the plant. Cut off anything that is outside of these imaginary lines. It is also important to cut the tips of branches that have not yet reached these imaginary lines in order to force the plant to fill out.
For the most part plants have two kinds of growth. Terminal branches and lateral branches. Each branch has one terminal bud at the very end, and many lateral branches along the sides. The terminal buds grow in an outward direction away from the plant. Left uncut they just keep growing in the same direction, and the plant grows tall and very thin. That's why the trees in the woods are so thin and not very attractive.
When you cut a branch on a plant, the plant sets new buds just below where you cut. When you remove the terminal bud the plant will set multiple buds, this is how you make a plant nice and full. Don't be afraid to trim your plants, they will be much nicer because of it. The more you trim them, the fuller they become.
Lots of people have a real problem with this. They just can't bring themselves to prune. Especially when it comes to plants like Japanese Red Maples. It kills them to even think about pruning a plant like this. Just do it! You'll have a beautiful plant because of it.
Look at the plant objectively. If you see a branch that looks like it's growing to far in the wrong direction, cut it. If you make a mistake it will grow back. Not pruning is the only mistake you can make. I hope this helps and doesn't get you in trouble with your significant other. Many a family feud has started over pruning.
http://www.freeplants.com/
