Summer Gardening Tips

By Donna Easton

As we move into summer the garden will be coming into full bloom. Remember and dead head the flowers. Not sure why you should be doing this? When a flower dies the plant puts all its energy into making seeds. Plants are just like animals, they are driven to reproduce. If you remove the dead flower heads, the plant will have to make new flowers so that it can produce its seeds.

Do your roses look like they need a boost during the summer months but you’re not sure which feed to buy. If you’re a fruit eater you have the answer at your finger tips. Just finished eating a banana? Don’t throw away the skin, dig a hole near the root of the rose and bury the skin. Banana skins are a good source of potassium, something that roses love.

Do you have bananas that you just don’t think look appealing enough to eat. Don’t discard them. Check your tomatoes - are there some that don’t seem to be ripening as fast as the others? Hang one of those bananas near the unripened truss, the tomatoes will quickly ripen.

Is the foliage on your tomatoes and peppers needing to green up? Try putting some Epsom Salts on the top of the soil. You should notice a difference in no time.

Have your tried growing leeks in the past but they didn’t turn out too well. Next time trying giving them a drink of heavy beer e.g. stout or when first planting out put some soot into the plant hole first. You’ll notice a vast difference in your crop.

Dandelions starting to appear in your lawn? Apply a teaspoon of salt in the center of the dandelion, and other weeds within the lawn, being careful not to spill too much on the grass. You should notice the unwanted weeds turning brown and dying off within a few days.

If you enjoyed this article please visit my blog at http://donna-howtogardenblog.blogspot.com/ or my review website at http://www.gardenreviewer.com - Thank you and happy gardening

Soil, Moss, and Other Bonsai Garden Essentials

In order to have a successful bonsai garden you need to have the best soil possible. It is first important to understand that you should never use garden soil in your bonsai garden. This type of soil is typically heavily ridden with bugs, pests, and even diseases that can really create a huge problem in your bonsai garden. In order to have the fewest problems possible you want to use a prepared soil, which is intended for repotting if possible.

While you need a repotting soil, you can use a basic soil there is no need to search for the most advanced soil you can find. Some plants do better with a simple soil rather than one that is heavily saturated with additives. If you have pines in your bonsai garden then you will need to use a grittier soil because they perform much better this way.

When you are looking for the perfect moss for your bonsai garden you may become frustrated, however it is possible to grow your own moss instead. This is much cheaper, plus your moss will not go through "shock" when it is planted. This helps your bonsai garden be much healthier.

As you progress in your bonsai garden, you will eventually need to pull the plant from the planter and trim the roots. When this is necessary, carefully remove the moss from the top of the plant and set to the side. Once you are finished repotting your plant you can carefully replace the moss. It will generally take a couple of weeks, but with proper watering your moss will begin growing again and be as healthy as before you moved it.

As your bonsai garden grows, you will experience some form of pest infestation at some point. Most of the time it is either aphids or scale insects, this is ok because they are some of the simplest to rid yourself of. However, it is important to check your bonsai garden each day to ensure that the problem is caught quickly and handled as fast as possible. If you wait even as little as a week before beginning treatment you could be allowing a few small bugs to become thousands which will take a lot more time and effort to get rid of.

Instead, closely monitor your garden each day when you are watering. Since you are already watering your plants, it makes the easiest time to do a quick check. If you find any bugs, it is always best to gently remove them. However, if you have a large amount of bugs you may need to seek the help of an insecticide to really keep the bugs at bay and off your beloved garden.

Chris Wight has been developing a green thumb for years and has recently fallen in love with the art of Bonsai. To learn more about Bonsai Gardening, please visit his site: http://www.BonsaiBoyDeals.com