Tomato Gardening - Must Know Tomato Gardening Tips For Beginners

Tomato gardening is a great way for you to get started with vegetable gardening if you want to test the waters or trying to fool around with gardening. Tomatoes grow easily, there will be no problems growing them indoors or outdoors and if you are planning to plant something that you can serve during meals, tomatoes is the most popular vegetable that appear on most recipes.

Before we move deeper into tomato gardening, you must know the two types of tomato that you can grow and the one that are more suitable for outdoors is called indeterminate tomatoes. This type of tomatoes will grow throughout the period prior to harvest and they are also known as vining tomatoes. Indeterminate tomato will continue to grow and bear fruits for a few harvest seasons before they are killed off either by diseases, pests or bad weather conditions.

We call the second type of tomatoes determinate tomatoes. They will stop growing after reaching a certain size and all of them will bear fruit at the same time, which is only for a short period of two weeks. You might consider replanting determinate tomatoes after each harvest season as the fruit production will start to plummet after the first flourish of fruits.

As a beginner, I would suggest you to start your tomato gardening campaign during the spring when everything is starting to warm up. During this season, you will have wider options as to whether to plant your tomato indoors or outdoors and to choose the type of planting methods you prefer.

You will then need to choose between whether to plant your tomatoes using seeds or by transplanting the plants that you can purchase from your local nurseries. If you pick the former option, you are required to start indoors using some small containers.After they are six to nine weeks old, you can transplant them from the containers to outdoors or a bigger container.

The most important thing that you have to keep in mind is to water your tomato plants every single day and make sure that they get adequate sunlight exposure. Tomato plants thrive well under an average temperature of 85ºF for the daytime. You should not be worrying about this as most vegetables have the same temperature for optimum growth.

If you prefer to start your tomato gardening efforts indoors, you will need a metal halide high intensity grow lights. These light are not the same as normal fluorescent lamp as they provide ample UV rays for your tomato plants. To ensure optimum growth, 18 hours of grow lights exposure daily is required.

By Wendy Campbell

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Using Flowering Vines to Create Privacy in Your Yard

Climbing vines can make a beautiful, not to mention useful, addition to your garden. They can help screen areas that need more privacy. If you have close neighbors, you can grow vines along a fence to block the view. This also works near the street, where flowering vines can help block some of the traffic noise, and provide you with a little privacy in your yard.

Flowering vines are also a beautiful feature for your garden. You can train them to grow up a trellis or arbor, or use the rain gutters of your home. They will grow up porch or carport supports, mailbox posts, or other vertical pots. Around your doorway, try growing beautiful trailing vines, which will add a romantic touch to your home.

There are many different climbing and flowering vines to choose from. Each creates its own display of flower blooms and colors. Some will grow to be thirty or even forty feet long, while others stay at a five or six foot height. Consider where you will be growing the vine before choosing one to suit your needs. Some grow very aggressively, and they can overwhelm your garden or topple a flimsy trellis. Others are quite content in a small area, to decide where you plant to grow the vine before choosing one.

There are both annual and perennial types of flowering vines. However, keep in mind that even the annual vines drop seeds in the fall and resprout from these seeds in the spring, so you will have beautiful vines growing year after year.

Once you plant your vines, they probably will not need much maintenance or care. Don't be surprised if they suffer from transplant shock for a week or two after you plant them, but they should recover quickly and begin climbing right away. If you're growing young vines, you may need to train them to figure out where they should be climbing. Once they begin growing, though, they should be able to figure it out on their own. You'll need to water them if you don't receive enough rainfall, and occasionally remove old flower blooms or prune the vines to get the shape you'd like. Other than that, your beautiful flowering vines do not require much from you.

If you'd like to try flowering vines in your yard, you might want to take a look at Morning Glories, Jasmine, Clematis, Hydrangea, or Bougainvillea.

By Kent Higgins

Knowledge is power it's time to learn more about planting vines. Today you too can gain from our years of experience, visit plant-care.com.

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Hydroponic Vegetable Gardening Indoors - How to Tackle This Feat

As autumn sets in, and the leaves fall, our gardens dwindle and we start to see that winter is just around the corner. We don't have to lose all the pleasures of a summer garden to the seasons, though. Hydroponic vegetable gardening indoors can bring some of the joys of a summer garden to the table throughout the year. Fresh salad with dinner and colorful spinach in the middle of December can be a reality if we follow just a few simple steps:

1. The first thing to consider when considering hydroponic vegetable gardening indoors, is its location. The ideal spot in your home would have a steady temperature of between 55 and 70 degrees. Minimal direct sunlight would be beneficial, as well as choosing somewhere that won't be harmed by frequent spills...a basement perhaps?

2. The second thing to consider would be the containers. Styrofoam boxes are said to work well, because they are cheap, available, and hold water effectively. Smaller containers are needed to hold the seeds as they start to grow. Commercial growing containers are available from web sites such hydra farm.com and interior gardens.com.

3. When preparing for hydroponic vegetable gardening indoors, the third thing to keep in mind is the lighting. There are all types of grow lights on the market, but they are expensive and really not necessary. Normal fluorescent lights in a cool white will work just fine. The plants need plenty of light, so plan to have two 4 ft. bulbs for each container..

4. The water supply is another important issue when planting an indoor garden. The water the plants are going to grow in will need to be oxygenated regularly. An aquarium pump works well for this. Set the pump up with a timer to run about an hour at a time at least 3 times a day. Water level is also important. There must be some are between the water and the plants to ensure that the roots receive an adequate air supply.

5. Lastly is fertilizer. An indoor hydroponic garden will not require any more fertilizer than an outdoor garden, so you can use the same fertilizer as you would in soil. Fertilize as directed on the package.

When planning an indoor garden, you must start small. Growing the produce inside can be a totally different experience than planting a garden in the yard, so starting small will give you the chance to see what methods work well for you. Once you get the hang of a small indoor garden, expansion will be simple. As you become comfortable with what you are growing, you can add different varieties as you go along, Edible flowers, cucumbers, and different types of lettuce are simple to grow while you get the hang of hydroponic vegetable gardening indoors. After you've got the technique down, the options are limitless!

By Ian Pennington

Ian Pennington is an accomplished niche website developer and author. To learn more about hydroponic vegetable gardening indoors, please visit Gardening Now for current articles and discussions.

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Starting a Rose Garden

Roses are not just known as a flower. They say that giving a rose can express lots of feeling and every color, arrangement, and quantity can give lots of different meaning. The reason why lots of people are fascinated with roses and roses is also the most chosen flower when giving gift especially to their love one. Not only can the rose itself give so much attraction to the people, but the rose garden also. Having a rose garden in your yard gives life in your house for seeing a beautiful rose garden every day can enliven your day. That's why it is nice to have a rose garden in your yard. There are some details that you must know in starting a rose garden

In starting a rose garden, you must know everything the ways on planting and taking care of rose. Here are some essential and very helpful information's that you must know to have a blossoming and flourishing beautiful rose garden.

Essential things that you must know in starting a rose garden:

• It is important that you must know first the important things in starting a rose garden. The first that you must consider is your willingness in making a rose garden. Are you the type of person who loves gardening? Or can you really take care of your garden well? These questions are really important especially when you are planning to have your rose placed on the pots or in the garden soil. There are no differences between the two ways in planting a rose. It both needs enough care and nourishing in order for your rose garden to bloom.

• You must also think first the volume and type of roses that your going to have in your garden. It is better to visit and see first how wide your garden is and remove also all the obstacles that can hinder in the in blossoming of your garden. The sunlight is very important for the plant, that's why you must know where the sun directly hits in your chosen are in your garden. The roses require at least 5 hours sunlight everyday in order for them to blossom well. These are really important before starting a rose garden

• The last thing that you must consider before staring a rose garden is the type of soil in your garden. The type soil is also important for the plants because it gives enough and right nutrition in the plants. You must choose the type of soil that will really help your plant to blossom well. You must also consider the climate before starting a rose garden

These are some of the important information in starting a rose garden. You can also get more information through online. Using these important tips, you will really have blossoming rose garden.

By Candis Reade

Candis Reade is an accomplished niche website developer and author. To learn more about Starting a Rose Garden, please visit Rose Gardening Today for current articles and discussions.

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Tips and Information For Growing Roses

There are a few tips and information about growing roses to be considered and a few requirements to optimize the growth of your roses. Generally speaking, however, roses are very versatile and can withstand harsh conditions and yet thrive. The basic fundamentals of getting the most out of your roses is to consider: the soil, the exposure, location, feeding, mulching, and pruning. If you put just a tad bit of attention to each of these facets and follow our tips for growing roses, then your roses will be a hit all though out the spring and summer without missing a beat.

Sun Requirements: Roses need at least 4 to 6 hours of direct sunlight every day. Early morning sun is the best to protect against mildew. Although roses can go with less sun, they usually will not survive as long and will have fewer and smaller blooms.

Soil Requirements: Roses prefer loamy soil with a high-humus content. Working compost, peat moss, leaf mold and well-rotted manure into the soil will provide them with a rich environment. The soil can be fertilized additionally with bone meal and super-phosphate. Soil with a pH of 6.5 is best. PH meters are available to test your soils acidity level. Roses must have good drainage. Avoid planting in low areas where water collects. Roses do not do well in standing water and other overly saturated regions. If your soil is especially heavy, add sand for drainage.

Location and/or Containers: Plant roses at least 18-24" away from buildings. Roses must have air circulation surrounding them. This will minimize any mildew from forming. They should also not be planted too near larger plants. Larger plants can carry away nutrients, water, and food and keep the roses from extracting the most from the soil. For smaller roses, you can plant them in a container or a window box to show them off in different ways. Window boxes are a unique way to show off roses that can draw remarks from the neighbors.

Feeding: After roses are in full leaf, apply a balanced fertilizer. We recommend using a food specifically designed for roses. Fertilize again after the first bloom and once more 6 weeks before the first fall frost. These are the smallest feeding recommendation. A few more times during the growing season, however, usually helps the roses fill out more.

Mulching: Mulch provides many benefits to roses. Add a layer 2 to 3 inches thick to your rose bed to keep the moisture in and to help keep the weeds away. This tip for growing roses is surprisingly effective and you'll notice quite a difference when they begin to bloom.

Pruning: Pruning roses is vital in their continued success. The first step in pruning roses is to remove any dead, dying, damaged, diseased, weak or thin canes. Prune the branches back as far as the crown. Any shoot growing from below the graft is called a sucker and should be removed. Pruning an already healthy rose is an important part of the process. Cutting a bloom not only allows you to enjoy it's beauty and scent, it helps shape the rose. Cut the flower stem no shorter than just above the first five-leaflet leaf below the flower you are removing. Also, you will need to leave at least two five-leaflet leaves above to point of the previous cut. It's best to cut a rose at a 45 degree angle roughly 1/4 of an inch from the outside bud. This seems complicated, but when you go to prune it will make perfect sense.

Roses are an exceptionally versatile, useful, and beautiful landscape plant. By following some basic tips and advice on growing roses and how to plant them, you will be on your way to years full of beautiful roses.

By Matthew Buquoi

Matt Buquoi is the owner of Flower Window Boxes, a window box company that specializes in affordable no rot window boxes. His window boxes have been featured in many cottage and cape cod style homes showing off an array of beautiful flowers. These no rot window boxes can be made custom and fast anywhere in the country.

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7 Things Not to Do When Gardening

Don't mow

What a waste of time this is. You devote enormous efforts to making the grass grow - watering, fertiliser, weed treatments - and then once or twice a week you chop it all down again. Doesn't make sense. Leave the grass longer. Or have a wild flower meadow. Do something !

Don't dig

A lot of effort here. You dig your vegetable patch, and then use half of it for walking on when you tend your growing crops. Make life simple by laying out permanent paths so that all your "patch" can be reached from a path. And when I say permanent I mean: just lay out the cheapest possible paving slabs as your path - directly on top of the weeds and grass you can't be bothered to dig up. Line underneath with plastic fabric if you like to stop weeds coming through the cracks. With this layout you can keep all the little parcels of land loose and uncompacted.

Don't weed

Tricky - you don't want to fight nature (see below) but it might not be quite right to let the weeds take over. So compromise - make sure that your ground is fully covered by plants that you want. Don't leave bare soil - that's what the weeds want

Don't use your own compost

A potential disaster area this one. If you look carefully through your compost you will find hundreds of little white, round, glistening eggs. These are slugs and snails eggs and will repay your efforts to raise them by eating your plants. Make your compost if you like but don't use it. Better by far to use composted municipal waste or farmyard manure.

Don't use insecticides

If you want a really good crop of greenflies (aphids) then spray insecticide early in the season and wait for the result. You will have thousands of really nice greenflies, which otherwise would have been eaten by the ladybird larvae, which you knocked out when you sprayed. The trick works because the ladybirds are on a longer lifecycle than the greenfly, and their population recovers more slowly. I've stopped spraying insecticide, and after nature had time to recover have suffered very little from insect attack - just occasional bursts of caterpillars (pick them off, there's rarely very many) and aphids on the growing tip of broad beans (just pinch out the tips - it doesn't matter the bean pods will have already formed below ).

Don't fight nature

It's a waste of time, and long term nature usually wins. There's a brilliant book by Mark Winston called Nature Wars which is captivating reading and which covers exactly this ground. But the important thing for you is to able to defend yourself against your critics when you leave untidy patches in your garden. You just say that you're not trying to battle against nature. And you would be right.

Don't .............er

I can't think of the last one but may be you can. Please write !

By Charles Marriage

Follow up by visiting New Landscaping Ideas where you can submit the seventh "DONT". See you there !

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