Your own Strawberries - all summer!

By A C Palmer

Strawberries - what does that word conjure up in your mind?
There really is nothing nicer than a plate of strawberries and cream with a sprinkling of sugar on top. It is the stuff of summer; cool breezes and watching tennis at Wimbledon on a hot, sultry day - at least that is the picture book scene! The reality though could be a sea of crowded umbrellas, with everyone getting soaked by the run-off from the umbrella next to you - while you all stare at a deserted windswept court!

But regardless of when and where you eat strawberries, for the home gardener here is a fruit that can be easily grown in containers and hanging pots if you don't have the room for a garden in your yard.
The fruit is mouth-watering, sweet and juicy and there simply is no comparison between a store-bought strawberry and one that has been grown and picked fresh from your own garden.
They are actually a fruit that can be grown right through from spring to the fall, providing you buy the correct varieties.
Early to mid-season varieties tend to produce a single crop of the larger type of strawberries for a two to three week period in the late spring/early summer.

Heavy cropping strawberry varieties can be harvested two to three times during the growing season, i.e. spring, summer and fall.

There is a third variety that will produce a smaller, sweeter fruit that will produce crops right through from spring to fall as well; this one is a great favourite with children!

Strawberry plants like a well-drained 'sandy type' of soil that is rich in organic matter. The young plants should be planted in the spring with a good heavy layer of compost/mulch around them to (a) prevent weeds from growing, and (b) to drip feed nutrients to the plant as the rain washes the compost into the soil.
They like a sunny position if possible, for sunshine will produce sweeter fruits.
By the very nature of the fruit they produce, to keep strawberries thriving they need 1 or 2 inches of water a week in order to produce a sweet and juicy crop.
And so there you have it. In your own back yard you can produce an environmentally friendly, healthy and extremely tasty crop of strawberries.
All you need then is your TV switched on during the 2nd week in June and there you are at Wimbledon, watching the tennis along with everybody else on the centre court, come rain or shine, with a delicious plate of strawberries and cream in your hand!

Benefits of Gardening With Kids Equals Fit Kids Plus Better Grades

Benefits of Gardening With Kids Equals Fit Kids Plus Better Grades
By Roxanne N Kim-Perez

Gardening with kids is a great outdoor activity that allows the whole family to participate. From selecting your vegetables and flowers, preparing the earth and planting and harvesting, gardening with kids can be a wonderful way to spend quality time with your children and is a healthy hobby all can enjoy. Working in the garden, children learn to work together and share, and helps a child build all senses.

These days, kids spend more time sitting in front of their computers and TV than playing outdoors. According to a study by the California Department of Education, kids' fitness levels may affect their performance in school. Study done by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found the same results on academic performance. The study found that increased amounts of physical fitness translated into higher academic achievement. The benefits were most evident in math scores. They also found that girls at a higher fitness level had better achievement than boys.

Do your children consume the recommended five servings of fruits and vegetables each day? We've known for years that fruits and vegetables provide essential vitamins, minerals, and fiber that keep us healthy. According to nationwide nutrition survey research, daily consumption of fruits and vegetables decrease risk of stroke, cancer, and heart disease; improve memory and lower blood sugar levels. So why not try?

Benefits of gardening with your children:

• Social and Life Skills



• Science



• Relaxation



• Environmental Awareness


• Quality time with family

Here are some tips for gardening with your children:

• Study what kind of climate you have before you start. Once you know your zone, you can find out what plants to select.



• Designate a place where your child will be gardening.



• Teach them about the importance of quality soil and soil preparation.



• Before starting a garden with your children, the first thing you should do is remove any large debris, rocks, and branches.



• Let the kids lay out the shape of the garden or draw on paper first.



• Ask your kids what kind of plants, vegetables or flowers they like to plant and let your kids pick them out.



• Explain what will work well in your garden and what won't. If planning vegetable gardens, show row spacing, and distance between plants.



• Let them help in the selection of seeds and blossoming plants at the nursery. Let your child do the money calculations.



• Depending on your kid's age, let him/she dig, weed, or water. This is a great way for your child to explore.



• Get them their own gardening tools. Nothing will motivate your little gardener more than having their own little shovel, gardening gloves, watering pail, and colored rubber boots.



• Plant some quick growers to keep the child's interest or purchase plants from garden center


• Watch plants grow and enjoy time together in nurturing nature.

Gardening with children can benefit both children and adults and it's all about having fun and learning. Gardening and nature are great stress relievers, enhance the environment, develop individuals, and build communities.

Roxanne (Roxy) Kim-Perez is a professional landscape designer providing landscape design service in and around San Diego. Her design firm http://www.forget-me-notlandscapedesign.com is a landscape design company that specializes in modern residential landscape designs with emphasis on energy efficient, low maintenance and comfortable designs for Southern California home owners.

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Useful Tips About Roof and Terrace Gardening

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Useful Tips About Roof and Terrace Gardening
By David Urmann

A roof garden is a type of garden situated on a roof of a building. Ever since, humans have developed a fondness to growing plants on top of structures. Aside from the decorative benefits, these roof plantings actually provide temperature control, food, and habitats for wildlife, along with recreational opportunities and architectural enhancement. In certain cities, due to the lack of gardening areas, many resort to roof gardens.

This type of garden can be on top of building, taking care of its own waste and water supply. With hydroponics, and other methods, you are able to expand the numerous possibilities of gardening on roof tops. A good way to accomplish this is by reducing the tremendous weight or soil needed. This is why planting in containers are prevalent in these gardens. Pots may be too heavy for the roof and cause ceilings to leak.

Living in small-sized apartments should not hinder you from having a garden. You can have vertical gardening or square foot gardening. Vertical gardening is planting with the use of your living walls. It uses lesser space than the traditional square foot gardening method.

Before starting, it is important to till, weed, and eliminate any pests. Also recycle by composting. In fact, for small apartments, having a Bokashi type of compost system is far more practical as compared to conventional composting. The safest type of compost is the manure derived from vegetarian animals.

In this busy world, most people find solace from nature. If you are too tired to take strolls in the park and you cannot go to nature trails all the time, having a garden at home, specifically in your terrace is the best solution to this dilemma. Hence, terrace gardening is a kind of indoor gardening that entails taking care of indoor plants.

Follow some tips in roof gardening. Your roof needs to be strong enough to carry the garden's weight. Also check for an efficient drainage system. And lastly, make sure there are no water leaks.

For terrace gardening, keep proportional the shrubs, lawns, small trees and ground covers. You can also enliven your garden corner with rocks and other naturalistic designs.

After this, you need to choose the kinds of plants you want. Fiber-rooted plants are better than tap-rooted plants. This is because tap-rooted plants can grow into the building and harm the structure.

For the soil, get the type that will not exert pressure onto your building. Peat moss and soil rite are good options. Since these are a bit expensive, you can mix it with manure and garden earth.

To arrange your drainage system, it is imperative that you do your roof garden construction. You can uniformly lay 2-inch to 4-inch burnt bricks on your terrace. This type of bricks is the best because the normal ones eventually turn into mud and consequently collapse the drainage system. A good alternative are corrugated sheets which needs to be placed on 3 inch distances, making the water freely flow onto the drain.

On top of these bricks, you need to place a net lawn. This prevents your soil from getting into the bricks. If your garden is a bit large, you need to have a drain constructed in several places. You should also place some pipes along several areas that would lead to the main holes. Make sure that these pipes are not visible. Keep in hidden beneath the lawn.

Lastly, place the soil mixture you prepared into the pot or any container. These gardens will beautify your home, and also promote a healthier environment.

For more information on Roof Garden Space Considerations and Exotic Roof Gardens please visit our website.

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Cheap Compost Tips

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Cheap Compost Tips
By Peter B Moore

Looking for a budget saving tip for your garden. Let's talk about reusing fallen leaves from the fall to help your garden year round. You can actually be everyone's favorite neighbor as you rake up leaves for your own good. Everyone will love you and you garden will become the best in the neighborhood.

You might be thinking I'm crazy but these leaves are full of plant nutrients and useful bacteria that help your garden year round. First layer the fallen leaves around your garden beds. This will help protect the soil during the winter time and by the time spring comes around a good percentage will have rotted away and their nutrients will give you a boost. Now for the fun part, you need to rake back up the leaves that did not rot away over the winter and add them to your compost bin.

You go take it two ways with a compost bin. I like to use chicken wire and back the leaves in tight while keeping them moist at all times. It takes about a year but the leaves turn into a crumbly dark compost that is great for the garden come spring time. You can also just take those paper yard waste bags and fill them with leaves and poke a few holes in the bag. Make sure you check the bags and keep the leaves damp, and you will get the same result in a year. The bag method is great for gardeners who have smaller gardens and not a good hiding spot for a compost pit. These leaves will give a boost of carbon into the ground that will only help your plants. A nice little trick is to mow over your leaves to break them down; this will help them break down quicker over the year.

I know this method takes some time but done year in and year out it will provide you with an easy and cheep method for good compost add-ons.

A quick an easy tip from http://www.southfloridagardening.co.cc/wordpress/

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Types of Orchids For Beginners

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Types of Orchids For Beginners
By Cliff Hunter

Never Grew Orchids Before? Let's Look at Some of the Most Popular Types of Orchids for Beginners!

Uh oh! I'm sensing that you are afraid you do not know where to start in growing orchids. Fear not! Here are a few ideas of the easiest orchids to care for. Many beginners loved them and some are now Orchid experts in the field. So what I'm about to share with you would be an excellent for beginning, while you learn the secrets of growing orchids.

Where to Start: Orchids for Beginners

The object of affection of royal gardeners and planting experts worldwide, you may think the orchid-that most difficult of natural beauties-is the business of the botanical only. But not so.

The secrets of the orchid can be discovered and perfected with many easy-to-care-for species of the beautiful plant.

For Beginners

The Oncidium Intergenerics, the fragrant delights that bloom twice per year, are favorites of the rookie orchid grower. Thought by many the most manageable orchid species, the Comnara Wildcat can last up to three months with simple care guidelines and ample light.

Another of the species, called the Oncidium Sharry Baby, blooms three times a year with the smell of the coveted cocoa leaf for your windowsill or dinning room.

The Cattleya group, another popular species among beginners, features a short blooming period that is offset by a natural beauty not often paralleled in the plant world. These large plants feature an easy growing regimen that often requires supplemental lights, and blooms with vibrant colors and characteristic fragrances.

Other Beginner Orchids

Another line of orchid plants popular for beginners is phragmepediums. Though watering and fertilizing must be practiced delicately with these plants, they are a simple-care orchid that requires much bright light. If a brown color emerges on the leaves, the orchid has been overfertilized-a simple problem that can be reversed with less fertilization.

Two important beginning orchids that bloom well under most proper windowsill conditions are the phalaenopsis and the paphiopedilum hybrids. Highly adjustable to different humidity levels, these two orchids require simple lighting conditions, much like African violets.

Requiring moderate amounts of water, the dangers of these orchids lie in overwatering them, or underwatering them, because of their lack of pseudobulbs. Because of the moisture they store in their roots, the water level can remain moderate, but if a problem arises, it may be quick to become irreversible.

Cliff Hunter is an enthusiast for Orchid Growing. He has devoted a lot of his resources to provide quality, professional information for Orchid growers and hobbyists. Learn more at his website: http://www.orchidflowerpot.com

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Home Gardening - Tools You Can't Do Without

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Home Gardening - Tools You Can't Do Without
By Dave Truman

Whether you are just an amateur gardener who enjoys working outside or a professional connoisseur of exotic plants, gardening is a great hobby that produces satisfying benefits. No matter what kind of gardening you plan on doing, there are a few tools that you simply cannot do without.

Tools You Need

One of the most frequently used tools in gardening is the trowel. This tool is used to get weeds out of your flower beds and also to move your plants into containers. Trowels come in two different varieties: wide and narrow. Either of these can be used for a slew of different gardening tasks, including evening out the soil around plants.

You can get large rocks out of the soil around your plants and perform lots of other jobs in your garden with a rake. Some gardeners like to use smaller forks for raking because they can be maneuvered more easily than larger rakes. Lawn rakes can be used to collect garden trash and debris. Rakes are also good for breaking apart large clumps of soil.

Spades are essential for gardening since they help you cut through roots that have gotten matted together and can also be used to carry soil to different parts of your garden. Even though spades often look very similar to trowels and shovels, they are different and have different uses.

Plants can be pruned and dead headed with secateurs. This tool is small and is used for stems and branches of small plants. Larger plant pruning is done with shears or other tools.

A watering can is essential for your garden. These simple tools are perfect for getting water to different parts of your garden easily. They come in many different shapes and sizes, some having just one hole from which water falls while others have several smaller holes at the end of the spout.

For some gardeners, the joy of gardening comes from using the hands to accomplish much of the work. For that reason, some people may opt to use tools less than others. In this case, though, having a good set of hand gloves will be important. Some tasks can be done without gloves, such as weeding and breaking apart pieces of soil.

Did you know your vegetable garden layout can have a big impact on how well your tomatoes grow? A little bit of planning will make a huge difference. Find out more about planning your vegetable garden on the Vegetable Gardeners website at http://www.vegetablegardeners.com

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Gardening in Planters, Containers and Garden Urns - Create Excitement in Your Garden Decor

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Gardening in Planters, Containers and Garden Urns - Create Excitement in Your Garden Decor
By Marion Stewart

Container gardening is one of the most pleasurable pastimes and is very rewarding with little effort. You get a special feeling of abundance seeing your deck or patio filled to overflowing with plant-packed containers and pots. Your deck garden is sure to give you a warm feeling and entice you to outdoor living. Container gardens can provide that link between the indoors and outside area, helping you to transform a deck or patio into another living space - an outdoor living space.

You are given a wonderful palette to express your own ideas and style. When choosing your pots and planters, think in terms of your own decorating style by using colors, textures, plants and containers. A good way to get a feel for what is your style, just take a look around your own home and don't be afraid to experiment. It is very easy to change your container garden if you don't seem happy with it. Change the arrangement or replace a plant or two and try something else. You can always just start over completely.

It is a great idea to keep notes or a garden diary for what works or what was a disappointment and then try something new next year. The garden nursery usually has new plants that they introduce each year - it is fun to include some of them too.

Container gardens offer an excellent opportunity to learn about color and develop your own sense of design. Try out new combinations of greenery, flowers and shrubs to see what works best. One idea that a friend of mine tried was cluster of several large containers. Into this group she included ornamental grasses, hibiscus, licorice plant, verbena and scaevola (fan flower).

Most of all, enjoy your new container garden.

Marion Stewart is an avid gardener. She loves sitting on her deck surrounded by so many varied flower-packed and herb planted containers. Her continued research has found these spectacular fine quality resin planters and garden containers and offers them in numerous colors, sizes and styles at http://gardenplanterstore.com

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Organic Gardening - Grow Your Own Organic Vegetables

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Organic Gardening - Grow Your Own Organic Vegetables
By Robert Pillans

Look up Organic Gardening in the dictionary and you will find that it means to grow plants without using synthetic chemicals. The preference is to use natural methods to make your plants flourish. You may well wonder how can anyone grow plants without using artificial fertilisers and chemical pesticides. The answer is very simple, so read on to find out how.

First of all, let's talk about fertility. Every gardener knows that if they feed their plants, they will grow well. The important point is how you feed them. The temptation is to mix up some chemical fertiliser and spray it onto your plants. Unfortunately, these fertilisers contain lots of nitrogen which speeds up growth of the leaves and stems causing them to be soft and therefore very attractive to pests and diseases. There is no doubt that the instant hit of nitrogen seems to produce great results, but the plants have no real strength in them. Organic gardening methods are different when it comes to feeding plants. What organic gardeners do is to feed the soil with lots of organic manures and fertilisers. The best way is to dig in plenty of homemade garden compost, mushroom compost or farmyard manure. These all contain the right mix of plant foods, but as they are in the soil the plant takes up what it needs through its roots. The plants may be shorter, but they are much stronger and more able to fight off pests and diseases.

Next, you need to think about all the pests that will feed on your plants. All the creepy crawlies like slugs, caterpillar, greenfly and aphids to name a few. Remember; avoid the temptation to reach for the chemical spray. As well as killing all the baddies, these also kill your allies. For instance, Hoverflies lay their eggs in clutches of greenfly so that their young will have a ready meal on hand. Ladybirds and Lacewings will also eat greenfly, and they do get through a lot as I have seen in my own garden. In turn, these insects will attract birds and they will quite happily eat up greenfly, aphids, slugs and caterpillars. Eventually, your garden will become home to larger creatures such as Hedgehogs if you provide them with some form of shelter. A pile of logs in a corner of the garden will provide all the comforts they need. Finally, if you can, build a small pool in your garden. The Frogs and Toads will soon find it and they will more than earn their keep by eating all sorts of pests.

When it comes to planting vegetables in your garden, the techniques described will work equally as well. The thing to remember is not to do what the farmer does by planting all your vegetables in rows in a separate bit of the garden. Instead, plant them in small blocks in between the other plants. The flowers and shrubs will provide some camouflage from the pests like butterflies which rely on finding cabbages and lettuces by sight. The carrot root fly finds your carrots by flying just above the surface of the soil, if it comes up against other plants it has to fly up to miss them. This way it also misses your carrots. You will also find that the pests get quite confused by all the different foliage and scents from your flowers and shrubs and will tend to go elsewhere in search of their preferred targets. You will still get some pests attacking your vegetables, but if you persevere with these methods, you will find that the level of pests is tolerable.

The other great advantage about organic vegetables is that you pick the freshest vegetables, and consequently the best tasting vegetables, straight from your garden and at the same time save a small fortune on shop bought organic vegetables.

We all know that we need to eat healthily, and organic vegetables are highly recommended by nutritionists and doctors as a vital part of the healthy diet. If you want to become an organic gardener, and produce wonderful vegetables that your family will rave about then visit How to grow Organic Vegetables for some more free advice.

I also run a blog called The Organic Garden where you can find out how I garden organically. Why not visit and leave me some comments about your own garden.

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Growing Flowers in Your Garden

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Growing Flowers in Your Garden
By Timothy Spencer

Gardening is one of the most popular hobbies in the world. It provides soothing therapy for some people especially when they see their work bloom in season. These are the sort of people who want to use their hands to make living things grow strong and healthy through their patience and hard work. Thus, gardeners often feel a strong connection with the soil and a powerful appreciation for beauty that only flowers can provide. The hours may be long and the work backbreaking, but the rewards of seeing a single flower bloom can lift all the hours and the aches away.

If you're looking for a new hobby or just something to do to spend idle time while at home, try gardening. Why? Well, one good reason is that a garden will definitely make your home look more attractive and beautiful. Besides that, the air in your private space will be cleaner and fresher since the plants absorb carbon dioxide to produce oxygen. Growing flowers is easy, if you have the time and patience for it. The tools are not that expensive and there are various resources in books, magazines and the Internet to help you with your project.

A small piece of land, tools, and knowledge is all you need to start a gardening project in your backyard. Here are some basic instructions:

1. Choosing the right spot. A sunny area with well-drained, fertile soil is the best for flowering plants. Make sure that the area is sheltered from strong winds that could defoliate and destroy the blooms.

2. Preparing the soil. Dig the soil thoroughly with a shovel until it is fine and loose. Add a large amount of compost or organic fertilizer to the top layer and mix it a bit with the soil. Fertilizers are vital to ensuring that your plants have all the nutrients they need for growing strong and healthy so make sure to do it properly.

3. Planting the seeds. You can buy the seeds at any department store or gardening shop here in the Philippines for a relatively cheap price. Follow the instructions in the package in planting the seeds. Depending on the requirement of your flowering plants, plant the seeds deep or only at the surface.

4. Watering. Water the seeds or plants at least twice a day. Moderate the amount of water as over-watering could kill your garden easily.

5. Fertilizing. Fertilize the flower bed periodically to make your flowers grow well.

6. Pest control. Always watch out for pests that could damage your flowers and take care of them early. Common pests are easily killed with the pesticides out in the market so ask your retailer for advice when you come down to buy.

7. Deadheading. Remove diseased, infested, rotting or old blooms and leaves. This will prevent the disease from spreading or attracting the pests. Also, the plants will bloom longer since dead flowers signal that the plant should start producing seeds.

These are only basic tips so make sure to read more details on creating your own garden. Happy gardening!

This article was written by Timothy Spencer for Island Rose - Philippine Flower Delivery. We hope you enjoyed this article and encourage you to visit our website. Through Island Rose, you can Send Flowers Philippines or simply browse through our blog for more informative articles.

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Why Rainwater Harvesting is Essential

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Why Rainwater Harvesting is Essential
By Tom J Walker

To begin with the goodness of rain water or natural water, our world purifies water and caters us for using it up. And we in turn, rush after bottle drinks, soft drinks to quench our thirst. Rainwater harvesting has grown to be a germane topic with the rise of syndromes and the lessened life span of human beings. Do we need a science lecture to emphasize the importance of rainwater?

Well, human beings, the brainiest of living creatures, are not up to snuff to comprehend the integrity of rainwater and the need for rainwater collection.

Rainwater is the crucial spring of uncontaminated water existing in the globe. When we just make an attempt to execute the rainwater harvesting job, we are in fact saving our era, power and money. But it seems people feel shameful to collect rainwater or not. No one cares about this phenomenon. Well, it is not a tough job like who will bell the cat? Or is someone waiting for a few people to start rainwater collection?

Questions can baffle your mind. All you have to do is start the task today itself without waiting anymore. Because our planet is in near to the deadline, we are to face tremendous scarcity of water and so on. Rainwater contains a handful of minerals which cannot be found in any other source of water. In fact, the process of rainwater collection is quite natural and we are to get more and more water in the near future if we do so

Rainwater harvesting is by no means a hassle job. All you have to create a storage for rainwater, and if you do not have enough space, plan it on your rooftop. Now, let us try to dig out some imperative reasons for rainwater harvest.

These days, groundwater is in short supply and infected. Topography is uneven otherwise precipitous. Another factor to follow rainwater collection is that the seismic and overflowing incidents are frequent. Again, the aquifer is in jeopardy of sea water infringement.

We are again aware that the inhabitants mass is near to the ground and we require more water. The price hikes in electricity and water is going to burden us soon. The normal water is excessively hard or else mineral burdened. The water we get in this juncture is filled with too much of salt and chlorine.

Rainwater collection or harvest is not in fact a big issue. It is totally free, and you are availed with pure and smooth water. No shortage of water occurs once you start collecting rain water. They do not get contaminated easily. There is no need to filter rainwater, and in fact you can save more money, energy and even time.

Rainwater collection will be a boon at times of disaster and havoc. Your home and surroundings will never cheat you or take away the stored water. Yet again, thermal accumulation can unsurprisingly chill houses. If man tends to be welcoming to nature, no doubt, nature is promisingly awaiting to bestow all the gifts she has.

Tom is an avid gardener as well as the owner of Rainwater Barrels and Compost Tumbler .

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Tomato Gardening - The Best Way to Grow Tomato Plants

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Tomato Gardening - The Best Way to Grow Tomato Plants
By Ric Wiley

Now is one of the best times of the year to start your tomato plants. Why, well you want to give them the best start to life and tomatoes need a long growing season to produce a good crop. I can hear you saying, it is too cold or too wet to start my tomato plants in the ground. Yes, I agree for the Northern hemisphere but you need to start your plants off in very early spring to be sure that they are good croppers. This applies in both the North and South. It is just that Spring happens at different times in the year in different parts of the world.

You need to judge when to start your tomato plants and mine go in during January. These will be potted on into larger pots and eventually put into the growing area of a greenhouse in May. This is giving me about 4 months of growing before they go into their final planting position and I would expect to start cropping my harvest sometime during July, probably towards the beginning of July. I will also be able to keep these cropping until late October and this is a growing period of nearly 10 months.

First of all you need to identify the best seed for what you want to produce and there are many different types of tomatoes to choose from. The seed type will also affect when and where to plant your seeds.

There are 2 main types of tomatoes to choose from and these are indoor or outdoor tomatoes or a type which will grow indoors or outdoors. I grow both but start these off at different times of the year. You also need to look at whether to grow small, medium or large tomatoes. Small tomatoes are often known as cherry tomatoes and bushes are often weighed down with the number of tomatoes growing on their vines. I tend to grow these outside in my high density garden and there is nothing I like better than just eating one when out gardening. The other types of tomatoes are medium and large tomatoes. The large tomatoes are often called beefsteak and are great sliced on sandwiches.

So how best to grow them? Well I start these off in flats. As I do not need many tomato plants at as time, I use a quarter size flat, (or seed tray), and I fill these with a multi purpose compost. There are specialist seed composts, soil based composts and peat free composts. We should use peat free composts and for most things I do, but for sowing seeds I find a peat based compost is best. Press the compost down a little but not too much so it becomes hard and the seedling roots will develop better in a looser soil than a harder one. Once I have done this I sow the seeds on the surface of the compost. As I only need 6 of each type for the greenhouse I sow 10 seeds in 2 rows of five in a quarter size flat. Once I have done this I cover them with a thin layer of vermiculite. This is a useful product to cover seeds with as it is lightweight but retains moisture. Finally water the flat. I do this by placing the flat in small container of water and let the compost absorb the water. You can tell it has absorbed the water as the color of the vermiculite changes.

You then need to place the flat somewhere warm. I usually use a windowsill and put the flat inside another flat with a plastic cover over it to make a mini greenhouse. I often use a heat pad underneath this just to start things off and give the seeds the ideal conditions to germinate. As soon as there is any sign of germination remove them from the heat and grow on until large enough to pot into 3 inch pots.

I find that by starting my tomato seeds now, I get a better crop earlier in the year, and just as important, a heavier crop later on.

You can learn more about High Density Gardening and growing tomatoes by checking out www.highdensitygardening.com/home.html which also has free downloadable worksheets on building hotbox compost bins.

Ric Wiley is an internet writer and gardener. His website about High Density Gardening can be found at http://www.highdensitygardening.com/home.html and his latest ebook is High Density Gardening.

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Growing Flowers in Your Garden

Growing Flowers in Your Garden
By Timothy Spencer

Gardening is one of the most popular hobbies in the world. It provides soothing therapy for some people especially when they see their work bloom in season. These are the sort of people who want to use their hands to make living things grow strong and healthy through their patience and hard work. Thus, gardeners often feel a strong connection with the soil and a powerful appreciation for beauty that only flowers can provide. The hours may be long and the work backbreaking, but the rewards of seeing a single flower bloom can lift all the hours and the aches away.

If you're looking for a new hobby or just something to do to spend idle time while at home, try gardening. Why? Well, one good reason is that a garden will definitely make your home look more attractive and beautiful. Besides that, the air in your private space will be cleaner and fresher since the plants absorb carbon dioxide to produce oxygen. Growing flowers is easy, if you have the time and patience for it. The tools are not that expensive and there are various resources in books, magazines and the Internet to help you with your project.

A small piece of land, tools, and knowledge is all you need to start a gardening project in your backyard. Here are some basic instructions:

1. Choosing the right spot. A sunny area with well-drained, fertile soil is the best for flowering plants. Make sure that the area is sheltered from strong winds that could defoliate and destroy the blooms.

2. Preparing the soil. Dig the soil thoroughly with a shovel until it is fine and loose. Add a large amount of compost or organic fertilizer to the top layer and mix it a bit with the soil. Fertilizers are vital to ensuring that your plants have all the nutrients they need for growing strong and healthy so make sure to do it properly.

3. Planting the seeds. You can buy the seeds at any department store or gardening shop here in the Philippines for a relatively cheap price. Follow the instructions in the package in planting the seeds. Depending on the requirement of your flowering plants, plant the seeds deep or only at the surface.

4. Watering. Water the seeds or plants at least twice a day. Moderate the amount of water as over-watering could kill your garden easily.

5. Fertilizing. Fertilize the flower bed periodically to make your flowers grow well.

6. Pest control. Always watch out for pests that could damage your flowers and take care of them early. Common pests are easily killed with the pesticides out in the market so ask your retailer for advice when you come down to buy.

7. Deadheading. Remove diseased, infested, rotting or old blooms and leaves. This will prevent the disease from spreading or attracting the pests. Also, the plants will bloom longer since dead flowers signal that the plant should start producing seeds.

These are only basic tips so make sure to read more details on creating your own garden. Happy gardening!

This article was written by Timothy Spencer for Island Rose - Philippine Flower Delivery. We hope you enjoyed this article and encourage you to visit our website. Through Island Rose, you can Send Flowers Philippines or simply browse through our blog for more informative articles.

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A Wild-Flower Garden

A wild-flower garden has a most attractive sound. One thinks of long tramps in the woods, collecting material, and then of the fun in fixing up a real for sure wild garden.

Many people say they have no luck at all with such a garden. It is not a question of luck, but a question of understanding, for wild flowers are like people and each has its personality. What a plant has been accustomed to in Nature it desires always. In fact, when removed from its own sort of living conditions, it sickens and dies. That is enough to tell us that we should copy Nature herself. Suppose you are hunting wild flowers. As you choose certain flowers from the woods, notice the soil they are in, the place, th conditions, the surroundings, and the neighbours.

Suppose you find dog-tooth violets and wind-flowers growing near together. Then place them so in your own new garden. Suppose you find a certain violet enjoying an open situation; then it should always have the same. You see the point, do you not? If you wish wild flowers to grow in a tame garden make them feel at home. Cheat them into almost believing that they are still in their native haunts.

Wild flowers ought to be transplanted after blossoming time is over. Take a trowel and a basket into the woods with you. As you take up a few, a columbine, or a hepatica, be sure to take with the roots some of the plant's own soil, which must be packed about it when replanted.

The bed into which these plants are to go should be prepared carefully before this trip of yours. Surely you do not wish to bring those plants back to wait over a day or night before planting. They should go into new quarters at once. The bed needs soil from the woods, deep and rich and full of leaf mold. The under drainage system should be excellent; plants are not to go into water-logged ground. Some people think that all wood plants should have a soil saturated with water. But the woods themselves are not water-logged. It may be that you will need to dig your garden up very deeply and put some stone in the bottom. Over this the top soil should go. And on top, where the top soil once was, put a new layer of the rich soil you brought from the woods.

Before planting, water the soil well. Then as you make places for the plants, put into each hole some of the soil which belongs to the plant which is to be put there.

I think it would be a rather nice plan to have a wild-flower garden giving a succession of bloom from early spring to late fall; so let us start off with March, the hepatica, spring beauty and saxifrage. Then comes April bearing in its arms the beautiful columbine, the tiny bluets and wild geranium. For May there are the dog-tooth violet and the wood anemone, false Solomon's seal, Jack-in-the-pulpit, wake robin, bloodroot and violets. June will give the bellflower, mullein, bee balm and foxglove. I would choose the gay butterfly weed for July. Let turtle head, aster, Joe Pye weed, and Queen Anne's lace make the rest of the season brilliant until frost.

Let us have a bit about the likes and dislikes of these plants. Once you have started you'll keep on adding to this wild-flower list.

There is no one who doesn't love the hepatica. Before the spring has really decided to come, this little flower pokes its head up and puts all else to shame. Tucked under a covering of dry leaves the blossoms wait for a ray of warm sunshine to bring them out. These embryo flowers are further protected by a fuzzy covering. This reminds one of a similar protective covering which new fern leaves have. In the spring a hepatica plant wastes no time on getting a new suit of leaves. It makes its old ones do until the blossom has had its day. Then the new leaves, started to be sure before this, have a chance. These delayed, are ready to help out next season. You will find hepaticas growing in clusters, sort of family groups. They are likely to be found in rather open places in the woods. The soil is found to be rich and loose. So these should go only in partly shaded places and under good soil conditions. If planted with other woodland specimens give them the benefit of a rather exposed position, that they may catch the early spring sunshine. I should cover hepaticas over with a light litter of leaves in the fall. During the last days of February, unless the weather is extreme take this leaf covering away. You'll find the hepatica blossoms all ready to poke up their heads.

The spring beauty hardly allows the hepatica to get ahead of her. With a white flower which has dainty tracings of pink, a thin, wiry stem, and narrow, grass-like leaves, this spring flower cannot be mistaken. You will find spring beauties growing in great patches in rather open places. Plant a number of the roots and allow the sun good opportunity to get at them, for this plant loves the sun.

The other March flower mentioned is the saxifrage. This belongs in quite a different sort of environment. It is a plant which grows in dry and rocky places. Often one will find it in chinks of rock. There is an old tale to the effect that the saxifrage roots twine about rocks and work their way into them so that the rock itself splits. Anyway, it is a rock garden plant. I have found it in dry, sandy places right on the borders of a big rock. It has white flower clusters borne on hairy stems.

The columbine is another plant that is quite likely to be found in rocky places. Standing below a ledge and looking up, one sees nestled here and there in rocky crevices one plant or more of columbine. The nodding red heads bob on wiry, slender stems. The roots do not strike deeply into the soil; in fact, often the soil hardly covers them. Now, just because the columbine has little soil, it does not signify that it is indifferent to the soil conditions. For it always has lived, and always should live, under good drainage conditions. I wonder if it has struck you, how really 'hygienic' plants are? Plenty of fresh air, proper drainage, and good food are fundamentals with plants.

It is evident from study of these plants how easy it is to find out what plants like. After studying their feelings, then do not make the mistake of huddling them all together under poor drainage conditions.

I always have a feeling of personal affection for the bluets. When they come I always feel that now things are beginning to settle down outdoors. They start with rich, lovely, little delicate blue blossoms. As June gets hotter and hotter their colour fades a bit, until at times they look quite worn and white. Some people call them Quaker ladies, others innocence. Under any name they are charming. They grow in colonies, sometimes in sunny fields, sometimes by the road-side. From this we learn that they are more particular about the open sunlight than about the soil.

If you desire a flower to pick and use for bouquets, then the wild geranium is not your flower. It droops very quickly after picking and almost immediately drops its petals. But the purplish flowers are showy, and the leaves, while rather coarse, are deeply cut. This latter effect gives a certain boldness to the plant that is rather attractive. The plant is found in rather moist, partly shaded portions of the woods. I like this plant in the garden. It adds good colour and permanent colour as long as blooming time lasts, since there is no object in picking it.

There are numbers and numbers of wild flowers I might have suggested. These I have mentioned were not given for the purpose of a flower guide, but with just one end in view - your understanding of how to study soil conditions for the work of starting a wild-flower garden.

If you fear results, take but one or two flowers and study just what you select. Having mastered, or better, become acquainted with a few, add more another year to your garden. I think you will love your wild garden best of all before you are through with it. It is a real study, you see.

Requirements of a Home Vegetable Garden

In deciding upon the site for the home vegetable garden it is well to dispose once and for all of the old idea that the garden "patch" must be an ugly spot in the home surroundings. If thoughtfully planned, carefully planted and thoroughly cared for, it may be made a beautiful and harmonious feature of the general scheme, lending a touch of comfortable homeliness that no shrubs, borders, or beds can ever produce.

With this fact in mind we will not feel restricted to any part of the premises merely because it is out of sight behind the barn or garage. In the average moderate-sized place there will not be much choice as to land. It will be necessary to take what is to be had and then do the very best that can be done with it. But there will probably be a good deal of choice as to, first, exposure, and second, convenience. Other things being equal, select a spot near at hand, easy of access. It may seem that a difference of only a few hundred yards will mean nothing, but if one is depending largely upon spare moments for working in and for watching the garden and in the growing of many vegetables the latter is almost as important as the former this matter of convenient access will be of much greater importance than is likely to be at first recognized. Not until you have had to make a dozen time-wasting trips for forgotten seeds or tools, or gotten your feet soaking wet by going out through the dew-drenched grass, will you realize fully what this may mean.

Exposure.
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But the thing of first importance to consider in picking out the spot that is to yield you happiness and delicious vegetables all summer, or even for many years, is the exposure. Pick out the "earliest" spot you can find a plot sloping a little to the south or east, that seems to catch sunshine early and hold it late, and that seems to be out of the direct path of the chilling north and northeast winds. If a building, or even an old fence, protects it from this direction, your garden will be helped along wonderfully, for an early start is a great big factor toward success. If it is not already protected, a board fence, or a hedge of some low-growing shrubs or young evergreens, will add very greatly to its usefulness. The importance of having such a protection or shelter is altogether underestimated by the amateur.

The soil.
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The chances are that you will not find a spot of ideal garden soil ready for use anywhere upon your place. But all except the very worst of soils can be brought up to a very high degree of productiveness especially such small areas as home vegetable gardens require. Large tracts of soil that are almost pure sand, and others so heavy and mucky that for centuries they lay uncultivated, have frequently been brought, in the course of only a few years, to where they yield annually tremendous crops on a commercial basis. So do not be discouraged about your soil. Proper treatment of it is much more important, and a garden- patch of average run-down, or "never-brought-up" soil will produce much more for the energetic and careful gardener than the richest spot will grow under average methods of cultivation.

The ideal garden soil is a "rich, sandy loam." And the fact cannot be overemphasized that such soils usually are made, not found. Let us analyze that description a bit, for right here we come to the first of the four all-important factors of gardening food. The others are cultivation, moisture and temperature. "Rich" in the gardener's vocabulary means full of plant food; more than that and this is a point of vital importance it means full of plant food ready to be used at once, all prepared and spread out on the garden table, or rather in it, where growing things can at once make use of it; or what we term, in one word, "available" plant food. Practically no soils in long- inhabited communities remain naturally rich enough to produce big crops. They are made rich, or kept rich, in two ways; first, by cultivation, which helps to change the raw plant food stored in the soil into available forms; and second, by manuring or adding plant food to the soil from outside sources.

"Sandy" in the sense here used, means a soil containing enough particles of sand so that water will pass through it without leaving it pasty and sticky a few days after a rain; "light" enough, as it is called, so that a handful, under ordinary conditions, will crumble and fall apart readily after being pressed in the hand. It is not necessary that the soil be sandy in appearance, but it should be friable.

"Loam: a rich, friable soil," says Webster. That hardly covers it, but it does describe it. It is soil in which the sand and clay are in proper proportions, so that neither greatly predominate, and usually dark in color, from cultivation and enrichment. Such a soil, even to the untrained eye, just naturally looks as if it would grow things. It is remarkable how quickly the whole physical appearance of a piece of well cultivated ground will change. An instance came under my notice last fall in one of my fields, where a strip containing an acre had been two years in onions, and a little piece jutting off from the middle of this had been prepared for them just one season. The rest had not received any extra manuring or cultivation. When the field was plowed up in the fall, all three sections were as distinctly noticeable as though separated by a fence. And I know that next spring's crop of rye, before it is plowed under, will show the lines of demarcation just as plainly.

Garden Pests

If we could garden without any interference from the pests which attack plants, then indeed gardening would be a simple matter. But all the time we must watch out for these little foes little in size, but tremendous in the havoc they make.

As human illness may often be prevented by healthful conditions, so pests may be kept away by strict garden cleanliness. Heaps of waste are lodging places for the breeding of insects. I do not think a compost pile will do the harm, but unkempt, uncared-for spots seem to invite trouble.

There are certain helps to keeping pests down. The constant stirring up of the soil by earthworms is an aid in keeping the soil open to air and water. Many of our common birds feed upon insects. The sparrows, robins, chickadees, meadow larks and orioles are all examples of birds who help in this way. Some insects feed on other and harmful insects. Some kinds of ladybugs do this good deed. The ichneumon-fly helps too. And toads are wonders in the number of insects they can consume at one meal. The toad deserves very kind treatment from all of us.

Each gardener should try to make her or his garden into a place attractive to birds and toads. A good birdhouse, grain sprinkled about in early spring, a water-place, are invitations for birds to stay a while in your garden. If you wish toads, fix things up for them too. During a hot summer day a toad likes to rest in the shade. By night he is ready to go forth to eat but not to kill, since toads prefer live food. How can one "fix up" for toads? Well, one thing to do is to prepare a retreat, quiet, dark and damp. A few stones of some size underneath the shade of a shrub with perhaps a carpeting of damp leaves, would appear very fine to a toad.

There are two general classes of insects known by the way they do their work. One kind gnaws at the plant really taking pieces of it into its system. This kind of insect has a mouth fitted to do this work. Grasshoppers and caterpillars are of this sort. The other kind sucks the juices from a plant. This, in some ways, is the worst sort. Plant lice belong here, as do mosquitoes, which prey on us. All the scale insects fasten themselves on plants, and suck out the life of the plants.

Now can we fight these chaps? The gnawing fellows may be caught with poison sprayed upon plants, which they take into their bodies with the plant. The Bordeaux mixture which is a poison sprayed upon plants for this purpose.

In the other case the only thing is to attack the insect direct. So certain insecticides, as they are called, are sprayed on the plant to fall upon the insect. They do a deadly work of attacking, in one way or another, the body of the insect.

Sometimes we are much troubled with underground insects at work. You have seen a garden covered with ant hills. Here is a remedy, but one of which you must be careful.

This question is constantly being asked, 'How can I tell what insect is doing the destructive work?' Well, you can tell partly by the work done, and partly by seeing the insect itself. This latter thing is not always so easy to accomplish. I had cutworms one season and never saw one. I saw only the work done. If stalks of tender plants are cut clean off be pretty sure the cutworm is abroad. What does he look like? Well, that is a hard question because his family is a large one. Should you see sometime a grayish striped caterpillar, you may know it is a cutworm. But because of its habit of resting in the ground during the day and working by night, it is difficult to catch sight of one. The cutworm is around early in the season ready to cut the flower stalks of the hyacinths. When the peas come on a bit later, he is ready for them. A very good way to block him off is to put paper collars, or tin ones, about the plants. These collars should be about an inch away from the plant.

Of course, plant lice are more common. Those we see are often green in colour. But they may be red, yellow or brown. Lice are easy enough to find since they are always clinging to their host. As sucking insects they have to cling close to a plant for food, and one is pretty sure to find them. But the biting insects do their work, and then go hide. That makes them much more difficult to deal with.

Rose slugs do great damage to the rose bushes. They eat out the body of the leaves, so that just the veining is left. They are soft-bodied, green above and yellow below.

A beetle, the striped beetle, attacks young melons and squash leaves. It eats the leaf by riddling out holes in it. This beetle, as its name implies, is striped. The back is black with yellow stripes running lengthwise.

Then there are the slugs, which are garden pests. The slug will devour almost any garden plant, whether it be a flower or a vegetable. They lay lots of eggs in old rubbish heaps. Do you see the good of cleaning up rubbish? The slugs do more harm in the garden than almost any other single insect pest. You can discover them in the following way. There is a trick for bringing them to the surface of the ground in the day time. You see they rest during the day below ground. So just water the soil in which the slugs are supposed to be. How are you to know where they are? They are quite likely to hide near the plants they are feeding on. So water the ground with some nice clean lime water. This will disturb them, and up they'll poke to see what the matter is.

Beside these most common of pests, pests which attack many kinds of plants, there are special pests for special plants. Discouraging, is it not? Beans have pests of their own; so have potatoes and cabbages. In fact, the vegetable garden has many inhabitants. In the flower garden lice are very bothersome, the cutworm and the slug have a good time there, too, and ants often get very numerous as the season advances. But for real discouraging insect troubles the vegetable garden takes the prize. If we were going into fruit to any extent, perhaps the vegetable garden would have to resign in favour of the fruit garden.

A common pest in the vegetable garden is the tomato worm. This is a large yellowish or greenish striped worm. Its work is to eat into the young fruit.

A great, light green caterpillar is found on celery. This caterpillar may be told by the black bands, one on each ring or segment of its body.

The squash bug may be told by its brown body, which is long and slender, and by the disagreeable odour from it when killed. The potato bug is another fellow to look out for. It is a beetle with yellow and black stripes down its crusty back. The little green cabbage worm is a perfect nuisance. It is a small caterpillar and smaller than the tomato worm. These are perhaps the most common of garden pests by name.

Fighting Plant enemies

The devices and implements used for fighting plant enemies are of two sorts:

(1) those used to afford mechanical protection to the plants;

(2) those used to apply insecticides and fungicides.

Of the first the most useful is the covered frame. It consists usually of a wooden box, some eighteen inches to two feet square and about eight high, covered with glass, protecting cloth, mosquito netting or mosquito wire. The first two coverings have, of course, the additional advantage of retaining heat and protecting from cold, making it possible by their use to plant earlier than is otherwise safe. They are used extensively in getting an extra early and safe start with cucumbers, melons and the other vine vegetables.

Simpler devices for protecting newly-set plants, such as tomatoes or cabbage, from the cut-worm, are stiff, tin, cardboard or tar paper collars, which are made several inches high and large enough to be put around the stem and penetrate an inch or so into the soil.

For applying poison powders, the home gardener should supply himself with a powder gun. If one must be restricted to a single implement, however, it will be best to get one of the hand-power, compressed-air sprayers. These are used for applying wet sprays, and should be supplied with one of the several forms of mist-making nozzles, the non-cloggable automatic type being the best. For more extensive work a barrel pump, mounted on wheels, will be desirable, but one of the above will do a great deal of work in little time. Extension rods for use in spraying trees and vines may be obtained for either. For operations on a very small scale a good hand-syringe may be used, but as a general thing it will be best to invest a few dollars more and get a small tank sprayer, as this throws a continuous stream or spray and holds a much larger amount of the spraying solution. Whatever type is procured, get a brass machine it will out-wear three or four of those made of cheaper metal, which succumbs very quickly to the, corroding action of the strong poisons and chemicals used in them.

Of implements for harvesting, beside the spade, prong-hoe and spading- fork, very few are used in the small garden, as most of them need not only long rows to be economically used, but horse- power also. The onion harvester attachment for the double wheel hoe, may be used with advantage in loosening onions, beets, turnips, etc., from the soil or for cutting spinach. Running the hand- plow close on either side of carrots, parsnips and other deep-growing vegetables will aid materially in getting them out. For fruit picking, with tall trees, the wire-fingered fruit-picker, secured to the end of a long handle, will be of great assistance, but with the modern method of using low-headed trees it will not be needed.

Another class of garden implements are those used in pruning but where this is attended to properly from the start, a good sharp jack-knife and a pair of pruning shears will easily handle all the work of the kind necessary.

Still another sort of garden device is that used for supporting the plants; such as stakes, trellises, wires, etc. Altogether too little attention usually is given these, as with proper care in storing over winter they will not only last for years, but add greatly to the convenience of cultivation and to the neat appearance of the garden.

As a final word to the intending purchaser of garden tools, I would say: first thoroughly investigate the different sorts available, and when buying, do not forget that a good tool or a well-made machine will be giving you satisfactory use long, long after the price is forgotten, while a poor one is a constant source of discomfort. Get good tools, and take good care of them. And let me repeat that a few dollars a year, judiciously spent, for tools afterward well cared for, will soon give you a very complete set, and add to your garden profit and pleasure.

Planting your seeds

Any reliable seed house can be depended upon for good seeds; but even so, there is a great risk in seeds. A seed may to all appearances be all right and yet not have within it vitality enough, or power, to produce a hardy plant.

If you save seed from your own plants you are able to choose carefully. Suppose you are saving seed of aster plants. What blossoms shall you decide upon? Now it is not the blossom only which you must consider, but the entire plant. Why? Because a weak, straggly plant may produce one fine blossom. Looking at that one blossom so really beautiful you think of the numberless equally lovely plants you are going to have from the seeds. But just as likely as not the seeds will produce plants like the parent plant.

So in seed selection the entire plant is to be considered. Is it sturdy, strong, well shaped and symmetrical; does it have a goodly number of fine blossoms? These are questions to ask in seed selection.

If you should happen to have the opportunity to visit a seedsman's garden, you will see here and there a blossom with a string tied around it. These are blossoms chosen for seed. If you look at the whole plant with care you will be able to see the points which the gardener held in mind when he did his work of selection.

In seed selection size is another point to hold in mind. Now we know no way of telling anything about the plants from which this special collection of seeds came. So we must give our entire thought to the seeds themselves. It is quite evident that there is some choice; some are much larger than the others; some far plumper, too. By all means choose the largest and fullest seed. The reason is this: When you break open a bean and this is very evident, too, in the peanut you see what appears to be a little plant. So it is. Under just the right conditions for development this 'little chap' grows into the bean plant you know so well.

This little plant must depend for its early growth on the nourishment stored up in the two halves of the bean seed. For this purpose the food is stored. Beans are not full of food and goodness for you and me to eat, but for the little baby bean plant to feed upon. And so if we choose a large seed, we have chosen a greater amount of food for the plantlet. This little plantlet feeds upon this stored food until its roots are prepared to do their work. So if the seed is small and thin, the first food supply insufficient, there is a possibility of losing the little plant.

You may care to know the name of this pantry of food. It is called a cotyledon if there is but one portion, cotyledons if two. Thus we are aided in the classification of plants. A few plants that bear cones like the pines have several cotyledons. But most plants have either one or two cotyledons.

From large seeds come the strongest plantlets. That is the reason why it is better and safer to choose the large seed. It is the same case exactly as that of weak children.

There is often another trouble in seeds that we buy. The trouble is impurity. Seeds are sometimes mixed with other seeds so like them in appearance that it is impossible to detect the fraud. Pretty poor business, is it not? The seeds may be unclean. Bits of foreign matter in with large seed are very easy to discover. One can merely pick the seed over and make it clean. By clean is meant freedom from foreign matter. But if small seed are unclean, it is very difficult, well nigh impossible, to make them clean.

The third thing to look out for in seed is viability. We know from our testings that seeds which look to the eye to be all right may not develop at all. There are reasons. Seeds may have been picked before they were ripe or mature; they may have been frozen; and they may be too old. Seeds retain their viability or germ developing power, a given number of years and are then useless. There is a viability limit in years which differs for different seeds.

From the test of seeds we find out the germination percentage of seeds. Now if this percentage is low, don't waste time planting such seed unless it be small seed. Immediately you question that statement. Why does the size of the seed make a difference? This is the reason. When small seed is planted it is usually sown in drills. Most amateurs sprinkle the seed in very thickly. So a great quantity of seed is planted. And enough seed germinates and comes up from such close planting. So quantity makes up for quality.

But take the case of large seed, like corn for example. Corn is planted just so far apart and a few seeds in a place. With such a method of planting the matter of per cent, of germination is most important indeed.

Small seeds that germinate at fifty per cent. may be used but this is too low a per cent. for the large seed. Suppose we test beans. The percentage is seventy. If low-vitality seeds were planted, we could not be absolutely certain of the seventy per cent coming up. But if the seeds are lettuce go ahead with the planting.

The Make-up of Soil

Soil primarily had its beginning from rock together with animal and vegetable decay, if you can imagine long stretches or periods of time when great rock masses were crumbling and breaking up. Heat, water action, and friction were largely responsible for this. By friction here is meant the rubbing and grinding of rock mass against rock mass. Think of the huge rocks, a perfect chaos of them, bumping, scraping, settling against one another. What would be the result? Well, I am sure you all could work that out. This is what happened: bits of rock were worn off, a great deal of heat was produced, pieces of rock were pressed together to form new rock masses, some portions becoming dissolved in water. Why, I myself, almost feel the stress and strain of it all. Can you?

Then, too, there were great changes in temperature. First everything was heated to a high temperature, then gradually became cool. Just think of the cracking, the crumbling, the upheavals, that such changes must have caused! You know some of the effects in winter of sudden freezes and thaws. But the little examples of bursting water pipes and broken pitchers are as nothing to what was happening in the world during those days. The water and the gases in the atmosphere helped along this crumbling work.

From all this action of rubbing, which action we call mechanical, it is easy enough to understand how sand was formed. This represents one of the great divisions of soil sandy soil. The sea shores are great masses of pure sand. If soil were nothing but broken rock masses then indeed it would be very poor and unproductive. But the early forms of animal and vegetable life decaying became a part of the rock mass and a better soil resulted. So the soils we speak of as sandy soils have mixed with the sand other matter, sometimes clay, sometimes vegetable matter or humus, and often animal waste.

Clay brings us right to another class of soils clayey soils. It happens that certain portions of rock masses became dissolved when water trickled over them and heat was plenty and abundant. This dissolution took place largely because there is in the air a certain gas called carbon dioxide or carbonic acid gas. This gas attacks and changes certain substances in rocks. Sometimes you see great rocks with portions sticking up looking as if they had been eaten away. Carbonic acid did this. It changed this eaten part into something else which we call clay. A change like this is not mechanical but chemical. The difference in the two kinds of change is just this: in the one case of sand, where a mechanical change went on, you still have just what you started with, save that the size of the mass is smaller. You started with a big rock, and ended with little particles of sand. But you had no different kind of rock in the end. Mechanical action might be illustrated with a piece of lump sugar. Let the sugar represent a big mass of rock. Break up the sugar, and even the smallest bit is sugar. It is just so with the rock mass; but in the case of a chemical change you start with one thing and end with another. You started with a big mass of rock which had in it a portion that became changed by the acid acting on it. It ended in being an entirely different thing which we call clay. So in the case of chemical change a certain something is started with and in the end we have an entirely different thing. The clay soils are often called mud soils because of the amount of water used in their formation.

The third sort of soil which we farm people have to deal with is lime soil. Remember we are thinking of soils from the farm point of view. This soil of course ordinarily was formed from limestone. Just as soon as one thing is mentioned about which we know nothing, another comes up of which we are just as ignorant. And so a whole chain of questions follows. Now you are probably saying within yourselves, how was limestone first formed?

At one time ages ago the lower animal and plant forms picked from the water particles of lime. With the lime they formed skeletons or houses about themselves as protection from larger animals. Coral is representative of this class of skeleton-forming animal.

As the animal died the skeleton remained. Great masses of this living matter pressed all together, after ages, formed limestone. Some limestones are still in such shape that the shelly formation is still visible. Marble, another limestone, is somewhat crystalline in character. Another well-known limestone is chalk. Perhaps you'd like to know a way of always being able to tell limestone. Drop a little of this acid on some lime. See how it bubbles and fizzles. Then drop some on this chalk and on the marble, too. The same bubbling takes place. So lime must be in these three structures. One does not have to buy a special acid for this work, for even the household acids like vinegar will cause the same result.

Then these are the three types of soil with which the farmer has to deal, and which we wish to understand. For one may learn to know his garden soil by studying it, just as one learns a lesson by study.

Making a Garden

The first thing in garden making is the selection of a spot. Without a choice, it means simply doing the best one can with conditions. With space limited it resolves itself into no garden, or a box garden. Surely a box garden is better than nothing at all.

But we will now suppose that it is possible to really choose just the right site for the garden. What shall be chosen? The greatest determining factor is the sun. No one would have a north corner, unless it were absolutely forced upon him; because, while north corners do for ferns, certain wild flowers, and begonias, they are of little use as spots for a general garden.

If possible, choose the ideal spot a southern exposure. Here the sun lies warm all day long. When the garden is thus located the rows of vegetables and flowers should run north and south. Thus placed, the plants receive the sun's rays all the morning on the eastern side, and all the afternoon on the western side. One ought not to have any lopsided plants with such an arrangement.

Suppose the garden faces southeast. In this case the western sun is out of the problem. In order to get the best distribution of sunlight run the rows northwest and southeast.

The idea is to get the most sunlight as evenly distributed as possible for the longest period of time. From the lopsided growth of window plants it is easy enough to see the effect on plants of poorly distributed light. So if you use a little diagram remembering that you wish the sun to shine part of the day on one side of the plants and part on the other, you can juggle out any situation. The southern exposure gives the ideal case because the sun gives half time nearly to each side. A northern exposure may mean an almost entire cut-off from sunlight; while northeastern and southwestern places always get uneven distribution of sun's rays, no matter how carefully this is planned.

The garden, if possible, should be planned out on paper. The plan is a great help when the real planting time comes. It saves time and unnecessary buying of seed.

New garden spots are likely to be found in two conditions: they are covered either with turf or with rubbish. In large garden areas the ground is ploughed and the sod turned under; but in small gardens remove the sod. How to take off the sod in the best manner is the next question. Stake and line off the garden spot. The line gives an accurate and straight course to follow. Cut the edges with the spade all along the line. If the area is a small one, say four feet by eighteen or twenty, this is an easy matter. Such a narrow strip may be marked off like a checkerboard, the sod cut through with the spade, and easily removed. This could be done in two long strips cut lengthwise of the strip. When the turf is cut through, roll it right up like a roll of carpet.

But suppose the garden plot is large. Then divide this up into strips a foot wide and take off the sod as before. What shall be done with the sod? Do not throw it away for it is full of richness, although not quite in available form. So pack the sod grass side down one square on another. Leave it to rot and to weather. When rotted it makes a fine fertilizer. Such a pile of rotting vegetable matter is called a compost pile. All through the summer add any old green vegetable matter to this. In the fall put the autumn leaves on. A fine lot of goodness is being fixed for another season.

Even when the garden is large enough to plough, I would pick out the largest pieces of sod rather than have them turned under. Go over the ploughed space, pick out the pieces of sod, shake them well and pack them up in a compost heap.

Mere spading of the ground is not sufficient. The soil is still left in lumps. Always as one spades one should break up the big lumps. But even so the ground is in no shape for planting. Ground must be very fine indeed to plant in, because seeds can get very close indeed to fine particles of soil. But the large lumps leave large spaces which no tiny root hair can penetrate. A seed is left stranded in a perfect waste when planted in chunks of soil. A baby surrounded with great pieces of beefsteak would starve. A seed among large lumps of soil is in a similar situation. The spade never can do this work of pulverizing soil. But the rake can. That's the value of the rake. It is a great lump breaker, but will not do for large lumps. If the soil still has large lumps in it take the hoe.

Many people handle the hoe awkwardly. The chief work of this implement is to rid the soil of weeds and stir up the top surface. It is used in summer to form that mulch of dust so valuable in retaining moisture in the soil. I often see people as if they were going to chop into atoms everything around. Hoeing should never be such vigorous exercise as that. Spading is vigorous, hard work, but not hoeing and raking.

After lumps are broken use the rake to make the bed fine and smooth. Now the great piece of work is done.