As the Garden Grows

What's blooming today?


You are here: Home / Archives for peat

Planning a garden?

by

Are you planning to beginning gardening this spring? Perhaps you are already a gardener but you plan on adding a new garden bed this season.

Do you know everything you need to know about preparing for a new garden bed? I’ve found some tips that will help you make your garden grow.

Anyone planning to begin a garden or set up a new garden bed should:

1. Plan your garden on paper before you begin. I did this back in the winter of 2002. I had measured my yards dimensions that fall, and I even took some pictures so I could easily remember what plants were already in the garden and how it was set up at the time. Then I began planning on paper using my measurements to map out the garden beds, and patio area.

2. Be sure that your new garden site is –

  • a. In full sun for at least eight hours each day, unless you have a shady yard of course.
  • b. Relatively level, but not in a low spot where cold air settles.
  • c. Well-drained, be sure to notice if the area stays wet for a period of time in the Spring as well even if it’s dry the rest of the season as this can affect your success with plants.
  • d. Close to a water source
  • e. Not near trees. Tree roots can interfere with plant growth and often trees steal the available water from the plants you’re trying to grow.

3. Know your current soil conditions. The soil in my area is a mix of both sand and clay! I amended our soil with triple mix (a mix of manure, peat and top soil). I also decided to create raised beds so that my plants would grow in a foot of my newly amended soil. The plants would also have good drainage and the soil would warm up earlier in the spring due to the raised beds.

Your own soil might need to be amended with lime or peat moss, manure or compost in order to improve it’s texture, and PH. Consider having your soil tested so that you can be sure that it’s PH levels are appropriate for the type of plants you’d like to grow.

4. When you begin your garden don’t go overboard. Plan a garden that you can maintain easily. If you over do the garden by making it too large or by attempting to grow plants with high levels of difficulty you might end up very disappointed. Keep in mind how much time you have for watering, weeding and maintaining the garden when you choose your plants.

5. If you are growing vegetables try to grow species that do well in your area. Tomatoes are a great plant to grow as they are fairly easy and produce an abundant amount of delicious tomatoes.






Finally

by

All of my annuals are planted!

I can’t believe that it took me so long to get it all done. I bought the majority of the plants at the beginning of May. It’s never taken me this long to get them in the ground or in their planters before. Tsk tsk.

The good news is that the majority of the plants somehow survived in their tiny little cells of earth or peat moss – whatever that stuff is that dries out so very quickly. They even managed to grow and bloom. I think they will take off now that they are in the ground or their new containers. Their roots can spread out and they’ll finally be happy for the rest of their short lives.

I even managed to divide my Cannas that I had growing in pots. Two large and over grown cannas became 5 plants.

I did buy one more plant today. It’s a Star Jasmine. Well at least I think it’s a Star Jasmine. I purchased it at Home Depot and if you are a gardener or home owner, and you’ve ever purchased plants there, you know their labels aren’t very specific as to species or even care guidelines. The tag said jasmine and it definitely is a Jasmine. It’s viney so I’m assuming that it is a star Jasmine. When it blooms I will find out.

Now my garden will be really smelly. But in a good way. Roses, two jasmine, fragrant Nicotina, and white four o’clocks that also smell a bit like jasmine. Mmmm I can’t wait for all of them to start blooming and giving off those luscious scents. Well my roses are blooming … but I’m dying to smell those jasmine and jasmine like scents. That fragrance makes it so enticing to sit in the garden in the evening and relax.

I hurt my right knee very badly on Saturday and my leg is wrapped with two tensor bandages from just above my knee to my ankle. So it was quite a feat to accomplish the task of getting about 300 plants installed into 16 plus planters and into the ground – considering I can barely walk. My husband helped … if he hadn’t the job would still be waiting and I fear the plants would soon die. We are going to have a heat wave in the next few days and the job just had to be done.

Now all I have to do for the rest of the summer is feed, water, occasionally trim and most importantly enjoy the garden.

Meta