DijitleStudios asked:

Jeremy Clarkson shows how to remove plants the easy way

Powered by Yahoo Answers

Garden Lodges asked:


There are many people who love to spend most of their time in the garden. The concept of a garden office or garden studio is perfect for such kind of people. In today?s world many people work from their own home. It becomes very convenient for these people to own their own garden office. However, everyone may not have ample space for his or her garden office. In that case, they can take professional help to create their own garden office within a small area.

If you want a robust and secure garden office or garden studio you simply must purchase a product from a specialist company such as Garden Lodges. People who want to build their garden office within a small space normally resort to this method. People who generally work from home prefer using a garden office instead of a spare room. However, there are certain details that one should keep in mind while creating a garden office.

For creating a garden office or garden studio, it would be best if one has sufficient space. He should take into account all the requirements for building a garden office or garden studio. Proper insulation and security of the modular garden office has to be considered.

People often like to own a garden studio. Garden lodges are market leaders in this field. A person can design his garden office or garden studio as per his choice. He can opt for designing a traditional kind of a garden office or garden studio or opt for the modern type of garden office. However, a person has to take into consideration a lot of details while creating a garden studio within a small place.

People who have limited space to build their garden office or garden studio generally purchase smaller buildings. The most modern equipment can be installed into a garden office or garden studio. Micro pods from Garden Lodges based in the UK can also be used.

Apart from the wide range of professional services available, you can get all the information about a garden office or garden studio from gardenlodges.co.uk.



Powered by Yahoo Answers

greentxmama asked:

Week 6 update.

The mixture that I used in the pots outside so far have been:

1 Part Compost
1 Part Peet Moss
1 Part Perlite
1 Part Potting Soil

I may change it up a bit in the future to 40% peet moss, 40% compost and 20% perlite.

Music: “Everyday” by
The Dave Matthews Band

Powered by Yahoo Answers

expertvillage asked:

Working with other heirloom seeds growers is part of the heirloom culture and good for the gardens. Learn about growing heirloom seed collaborative efforts from an organic farmer in this free gardening video.

Powered by Yahoo Answers

Annette Welsford asked:


Beautiful, gigantic, and perfect tomatoes do not grow by themselves! While tomatoes originated in the wild, centuries of cultivation have produced countless varieties, each needing their own special care. Some varieties of tomatoes grow in compact bushy forms, while others grow and grow, like vines, continually setting fruit. Depending on the type of tomato and desired yield, pruning and staking tomato plants will ensure a healthier, more robust harvest.

What is Pruning?

When most people think of pruning, they think of trees and shrubs. We prune trees to change the shape, increase air-flow through the canopy, reduce the size, and remove dead or diseased wood. Tomato pruning works in much the same way.

Pruning for Plant Health

Tomatoes benefit from good air circulation, as they are prone to diseases if their leaves stay wet or are encased in constant humidity. Pruning helps thin the tomato plant so that air moves freely. Tomatoes, when attacked by disease or pests, can recover; however, the injured part of the plant must be removed so that the injury does not spread to the rest of the plant.

Pruning for Increased Harvest

Every time a plant flowers, once the flower is pollinated, it will produce a fruit. Juicy tomatoes we love to eat are actually the fruits of the tomato plant. Vigorous, vine types of tomatoes will grow forever if not stopped! A plant can only produce a certain amount of sugar to ?feed? the fruit; consequently, tomato plants with more fruits will produce smaller fruits. Pruning side-shoots helps lessen the amount of fruit on the plant, and allows the plant to send all of its energy to a few, select fruits.

What is Staking?

Staking is the process of providing support for a plant. Staking helps promote air flow throughout the plant, ensuring less buildup of moisture, and fewer diseases. Staking also helps support tomato plants as they grow and produce heavy fruit. Tomato stems are brittle, and will break under too much strain. Many types of staking mechanisms exist including cages, trellises, and single stakes. Consult a tomato growing reference like How To Grow Juicy Tasty Tomatoes for a comparison of 11 staking techniques.

The proper staking technique will depend the tomato variety and individual gardener?s harvesting goals.

Pruning and Staking are keys to successful tomato growing, as they promote overall plant health and higher fruit yield.

If you want more detailed tomato garden advice and tips from a world horticultural expert, visit www.bestjuicytomatoes.com



Powered by Yahoo Answers

Israel-1 asked:


Do you plant “heirloom”, or, seeds that have been “altered” ? This question comes from this post :

Good Seed vs. Bad Seed
I have been so disheartened at times when I was into growing a garden, because after ordering seed, and putting all the labour into growing, when it came to harvest time, only to find that the seed planted was a “hy-brid”. It was seed that had been tainted : Generically engineered ! The fruit didn’t have the juice, the flavour, and couldn’t be replanted ! There is a reason some seed is called ” heirloom”. It is a precious seed, delightful to the taste and eyes, and can continue in reproduction with the same ” un-altered” qualities.

I’ve said all that to say this : THE TRUE SEED, THE WORD OF GOD, WILL ALWAYS GIVE FORTH WHAT IS EXPECTED OF IT. There is SO many variations of INTERPRETATIONS of the Word of God, and, to decipher it is beyond our ability, UNLESS, we look toward the HEIRLOOM. A Seed tried and tested, without alterations ! Revelation of the Word.

Powered by Yahoo Answers

Thomas Andrews asked:


Could you imagine where the pizza industry would be today without tomato sauce? The top two condiments in the United States, ketchup and salsa, are tomato-based. It is safe to say that the tomato is an all-American culinary entity, a piece of Americana sharing ranks with apple pie, maple syrup, and that staple of staples, good ole corn. We’ve become very familiar with the pale, mild-flavored hybrid tomatoes in the supermarkets, the thick canned pastes, and those cute little cherries at your local salad bar. But, for those of us who really love tomatoes, and are looking for something a little more unique or very specific, we grow our own. I am going to attempt to briefly cover the basics of tomato varieties that gardeners should be familiar with.

Determinate vs. Indeterminate

Many growers have heard these terms applied to a few different fruits. These words refer to the specific plant’s fruit production habit.

Determinate tomato varieties produce one large crop and then produce little or no fruit for the rest of the season. They are usually shorter than indeterminate varieties and have a fixed height. So, there is no need to stake them. These are often paste or plum tomato varieties.

Indeterminate or the vining varieties are going to be the most common variety for home gardening. They produce a continuous crop all summer until frost, and then they will start to die back.

Tomato Varieties

Your standard or slicing tomatoes are the common medium-sized round tomatoes. These will most often be used in soups or sliced for salads. You’ve seen these in six-pack trays at your local supermarket.

Beef Steak are big tomatoes, some up to 2 pounds. These are the ones that, when sliced, fit sandwiches and burgers very nicely. Beef Steak varieties are also great for stuffing and baking. They are rarely found in supermarkets because their size and tenderness makes them more trouble than they are worth for big retailers. However, they are a home garden dream, a big tasty return on the simple investment in a tiny packet of seeds. Some popular cultivars of this variety are ‘Better Boy’, ‘Big Beef’, and ‘Park’s Whopper’.

Cherry tomatoes are very small tomatoes, ranging from barely bigger than your finger tip to the size of a golf ball. They are often very sweet and perfect by themselves just as a snack. They are the sublime salad tomato because they add lots of flavor, and you don’t have to slice them. The elongated smaller and sweeter grape tomatoes are also a tasty variation of the cherry tomato. Cherry tomato plants produce a large amount of fruit, so you don’t have to plant many to get plenty of tomatoes.

Paste or plum tomatoes are, as the name suggests, often used for canning and sauces. They work well for this because they are less juicy than other varieties, they don’t have a core, and they have far less seeds than other varieties. They are usually small and slightly elongated or ?pear-shaped.? They are often lumped together as ?Roma? tomatoes, which is actually just one cultivar of this tomato variety.

Choose Your Tomato Wisely

Breeders have had fun with this popular garden plant. They come in all sizes and colors, from pink and striped to almost black. But, the best way to pick your tomato is to grow for your needs. If you want sandwich tomatoes, grow Beef Steaks. If you love tomatoes in your salad, try some different cherry varieties. If your garden is the source for most of your canned goods, you should probably try to grow a few paste tomatoes. Growing your own tomatoes will give you power over selection and power over growing methods. It is cheaper than than buying them at the supermarket, and it can be much more rewarding. Have a good time in your garden, and grow the tomato that’s just right for you.



Powered by Yahoo Answers

Terry Schierer asked:


Whether you view the tomato as a vegetable or a fruit ? either way ? they sure taste good and add that extra kick to a lot of popular dishes on a worldwide basis.

With a fascinating history, you’d never figure that the tomato is actually part of the nightshade family, where a few poisonous cousins exist. Interestingly, the lineage of the tomato is also connected to that of tobacco, eggplants, chili peppers, and the potato. Without tomatoes, some of the favorite edibles around the world would cease to survive. Overall, I find tomatoes a versatile vegetable, which shapes the many reasons why I celebrate their existence.

1) A Happy-Looking Vegetable

Tomatoes are colorful and not only come in the bright red variety, but also decorate dishes with orange, green, pink, purple, yellow, and even white selections. Some are multi-colored, while others display funky stripes. All in all, the tomato makes a rather attractive addition to a recipe that actually helps uplift a gloomy disposition.

2) Important Salad Ingredient

A salad isn?t complete without tomatoes, as there are many different selections to consider. Tomatoes and cucumbers with Italian dressing make a great accessory to any dinner, which is also fast and easy to prepare. Add cubed cheese to this side dish and you have a filling, speedy lunch for on the go.

3) Hamburger Helper

Sprinkle a little salt on sliced tomatoes and you have a refreshing treat. A juicy hamburger with all the fixings isn?t the same without a couple of slices, adding zip and matching perfectly with lettuce.

4) Please Pass the Ketchup!

Thanks to the tomato, the popular burger condiment of ketchup heightens the taste of freshly grilled items on a hot summer day. Will you please pass the ketchup for my hot dogs, French fries, Thousand Island dressing, sandwiches, and other fried foods?

5) Good Stuff for the Body

Red foods are known to supply the body with lycopene ? a heart-healthy, powerful antioxidant proven to fight against cancer and other ailments. When you want to provide the body with the healthiest boost, seek out crushed-, tomato sauce- or paste products.

6) Fried Green Tomatoes

Fannie Flagg brought attention to this tasty treat when she published “Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Caf?.” The novel was later turned into a comical drama starring Kathy Bates and Jessica Tandy, prompting curious thoughts regarding the actual taste of fried green tomatoes. FYI: They’re delicious!

7) Easy to Grow

Sometimes the price of tomatoes is ridiculous, but with a little patience ? you can generate your very own supply in a homemade garden. While the rabbits nibble at strawberries and corn becomes riddled with bird pecks ? you’ll always have a healthy crop of tomatoes to enjoy. This easy-to-grow vegetable becomes so plentiful; you’ll have enough to share with family and friends.

Pizza, Pizza!

Without tomatoes, the magical blend of most of the four food groups wouldn?t come together in a neat pie slathered with tomato sauce. The added spices of rosemary, oregano, and other Italian selections bring the flavor of tomatoes to life in this rather vital component of pizza making.

9) A Taste of Italy

Joining pizza, the thousands of ways to prepare pasta, including heaping mounds of lasagna and the childhood favorite of spaghetti and meatballs isn?t the same if tomato sauce and tomatoes aren’t available.

10) Mexican Delight

Nothing tempts the palate at a Mexican restaurant like the taste of fresh salsa with sturdy tomatoes that burst inside your mouth. Many other Mexican dishes rely on the use of tomatoes, whether included in a recipe or merely decorating the side of a plate.



Powered by Yahoo Answers

Bare Bones Gardener asked:


If you are looking for ways for you or your children to provide cheap presents for the extended family, or just like to give gifts that have a personal element to them, then here is a suggestion or two for you.

If you are looking to make a present for the gardener in the family or someone who has recently moved into their own home, someone in a flat or unit, or a person who can’t manage a full sized yard, or a family member who loves to cook with fresh ingredients, etc. Then why not consider giving them something from your own garden? Here I am talking about plants that you have divided off from your own garden plants.

There are many plants growing in the average garden that can be divided, or that have naturally self layered themselves. Where you could go along and take a rooted section, pot them up and with a bit of dressing up of the planting container, you could produce a really nice gift for someone you care about.

These plants include many herbs as well as perennials or shrubs and even some trees which manage to send out self-layering branches or suckers from the root system. Some perennials or bulbs will increase their size or number of bulbs over time. Chance seedlings coming up in the wrong place for you, can easily also be used. All of these provide you with an opportunity to cheaply create a wonderful present for someone else.

First things first you will need to obtain a number of pots either plastic ones left over from additions to the garden population, or from someone you know, or you can go out and purchase a pot plastic/ceramic/terracotta etc., to suit your needs. If the person you are giving the plant to is not a real gardener, then you might consider getting a pot with a waterwell in the base to increase the plants’ chances of surviving.

Next, you need to begin looking for your plant material, so take a careful look around your garden at the soil level. Check out which plants are showing multiple stalks growing out of the ground. Or those sprawling plants where a branch has leaned over on to the ground and taken root along the branch, maybe one where a branch has become buried under the mulch.

Or one where there is a sucker growing from the soil a short distance from the parent plant. Another possibility is seedlings growing in the garden a distance from the parent plant material. Maybe there is a clump of plants or a big patch of bulbs where you can do some dividing.

Many of these plants benefit from being divided up or being allowed some more growing room in the particular area where you have taken away some material.

Different parts of Australia will have a differing range of plant species, which lend themselves to this form of self-propagation. If you can’t find any plants that are doing this in your own garden, why not look at a friends or neighbours garden. Or you could maybe join forces and give a joint present using plants from another family member’s garden. Or another possibility is to buy a plant in a pot that has several plants already established in it.

Divide that up before you use half in your own garden, and still have half to repot and give away. Even if you are not confident about your gardening skills you can still pick up cheap plants at the local market, school/church fair, garage sale etc. Repot them into a bigger or nicer pot for a fairly cheap present.

Another possibility is to multiplant a few different plants into a long or large round tub. This will create an instant garden on the move. Some themes you might consider here is herbs, indoor foliage, bulbs, annuals, alpine/rock, cacti/succulent or even patio gardens mixing annuals and perennials.

It is best to moisten the ground around the plant that you are going to work on well before you do the dividing, as this allows you to remove the maximum amount of root mass during the dividing process.

The first step is to divide the clump or cut away the joining branch to make the separate plant available. Then using a spade, fork or gardening trowel, dig as far out from the potential plant as practicable, because this will give you the biggest root mass possible.

Go down as far you believe you need to, (this will depend on such circumstances as size of new plant, species of original plant material, type of soil, other plant or landscaping material around the area, etc.). As gently as you can dig out the new plant. Shake off any excess soil and refill the resulting hole in the ground if necessary.

Prune back the foliage of the new plant to roughly equal size of the root mass, trying to protect some of the new foliage growth. Repot as soon as practicable, so that the roots do not dry out and die.

Another thing to consider is what sort of pot you are gong to plant into; if it is only a plastic pot then you do not need to prepare it beforehand. However if you are looking at painting it, then do this before you get digging.

When painting up pots, you will need to do some preparation work for the paint to stick properly. Plastic pots should have their surface roughened up with a bit of sandpaper. While some terracotta pots should have a primer applied to the outer surface before you paint them. Try not to get primer or paint onto the inside of the planter, because while most wont, there are still some paints which contain chemicals that may affect or contaminate the soil and plant over time.

Other possibilities for decorating up pots include simply gluing on bits and pieces including stones, tiles, buttons, sticks, shells, ornaments, ribbon, stickers and decals, etc. Other ways of decorating up a pot for the initial presentation is to wrap up just the pot (not the actual plant), using either wrapping paper, cellophane, material, a cheap teatowel or even hessian. Hold these wrappers in place with string, ribbon, bandana, scarf, etc.

Other possibilities for adding value to the potplant is to provide some growing information and name tags for the plant/s included. Other little quirks you might add include a personalised name tag, (Hi, my name is David the Diffenbachia . . . ), or a little watering indicator, miniature hand tools, small amounts of fertiliser, pot ornaments, watering can etc.

So as you can see, creating a very personal gift for just about anyone can easily be within the grasp of anyone. Why not go out into your garden and start thinking about what presents you can be preparing for Christmas this weekend.



Powered by Yahoo Answers

expertvillage asked:

Store saved heirloom seeds in a dry, cool, dark place to give them the best chance at viability. Learn about getting into heirloom seed saving from an organic farmer in this free gardening video.

Powered by Yahoo Answers