How to Use Eggshells, Banana Peels, and Coffee Grounds in the Garden

It’s the time for looking back and looking forward, the threshold of a new year. Gardening is an exercise in optimism, especially in the winter when everything is still possible. We check things off in catalogs and draw little circles on graph paper or the back of an envelope, asking questions like “What worked this year that we can repeat? What failed? How big will that get? Should we try that one in a different spot?”

Nature plants most of her seeds in the fall. In the wild, flowers bloom and ripen all season. They “plant” themselves by dropping their seeds where they are, or sending them off on the wind, or sticking them in clever ways to people and animals to drop elsewhere.

Southern California cities average about seven days of rainy weather in February meaning there is still plenty of sunny days to plant trees and shrubs and prepare gardens for spring. Plant Trees and Shrubs: Planting trees and shrubs is relatively simple. First, dig a hole twice as wide but just as deep as the tree’s root ball.

A garden in your house changes the way people look at you. If it is maintained and looks nice, people will consider you an organized person and it will create a good image about you. A nice looking garden can be very helpful if you want sell your house as well. In these tough times anything that makes your house stand out for the better is very welcome. However, you don’t want to break your neck trying to till through it. That’s why people have invented the garden cultivator.

The last few days have seen the garden shrouded in frosty stillness. But today I awoke to blue skies and a wind so blustery it was more reminiscent of a November day. Not having been able to do much in the garden because of the cold, I decided to venture out and see what needed doing.

Is there a relationship between starting seeds indoors and mental health? I would affirm that all aspects of gardening promotes a sense of mental well-being, relieves stress and empowers an individual’s self-esteem. There are few activities that reward your efforts so generously.

Do you know a stockbroker or financial professional that has suffered losses recently? Cheer him up with some tulips! Here is the story and why things no matter how bad they seem can always be worse.

Aquaponics makes Organic gardening super easy! A guide on how to become part of the aquaponics revolution and how you can start benefiting from this amazingly simple technique of growing and rearing 100% percent organic tasty vegetables and fish in a most economical manner with no water waste and no fertilizers. Aquaponics will show you a new way of organic gardening that is both fun and highly productive without the hard work associated with a traditional vegetable plot.

Last year was by far the best year for cucumbers that I have ever had. With a good mix of care and of course, excellent weather, the cucumbers I started from seed, blossomed and produced unlike any season before. Here is what I did last year. Hopefully you will have great success as I did.

I have a friend who is lucky enough to have a small field attached to her property. Once her old pony sadly died last year, she no longer wanted to use the field for grazing but decided she would like to turn it into a wildflower meadow. Many of our truly wild meadows are fast disappearing, so it is great when someone decides to allow grassland to revert back to nature and help preserve some of the truly beautiful native species of wildflower we have. Creating a wildflower meadow or area is not as difficult as you may think. Here are a few tips and some species you might like to grow.

Soil pH plays an important role on plant growth. Learn what it is and how to adjust it to get the most from your lawn, garden, and vegetables.

People who are interested in the concept of Xeriscaping generally come from arid or semi-arid climates and are looking to install a landscape that is not so water hungry. At the same time they want to see some color. There’s nothing worse than a minimalist landscape of bland rock and cacti dotted around in an attempt at interest. Planning is essential in Xeriscape gardens and here we will deal with the concept of the “three zone” approach to design.