Archive for the ‘Gardening’ Category

Used tillers for a small garden are great to work with. All one really needs to have in a small garden is a tiller, probably a shovel, and of course the usual garden gloves and a bucket and hose. Simple and neat, the home garden pleases the eyes when nothing else can. However, this is not exactly the case if you have a big garden. A hand tiller will not do at all if you cannot even walk the entire length of your garden without feeling tired. Huge gardens need bigger equipment that will not only help you in cultivating the plots, but to actually seed and maintain.

One important item to have as a gardener is the tiller. If you have a potted garden, then a hand tiller will do, but if you have an area that requires a lot of back and elbow grease, thinking of a mechanical tiller should be the something to be considered. Now there are some tillers that are small enough for a small sized garden and then there are the bigger ones for the bigger gardens, whatever it may be, make sure to get the right equipment for the area that you are thinking of cultivating.

If you are seriously considering purchasing implements such as tillers for your garden, there are two ways to go about it. Buying brand new equipment which will guarantee you functionality; company services when in need of anything; availability of replacement parts as well as the lifetime warranty. The other option is to buy used implement. This is the tricky option as it may open you, the buyer, and a lot of frustration later on if you are expecting too much in terms of quality and function.

It is never too careful these days to be sceptical of things that sound too good to be true. Tillers are expensive items, so if it was still working, why is the used tiller priced so cheaply? It would be great if you can get something really worth something rather than junk from someone else’s back yard. Others say, buy in eBay! yet, it is unfortunate that even through this site, no one can really guarantee quality control, especially if someone out there is just out to do some mean tricks.

Used tillers are most definitely abused tools as tilling over rough terrain are part of their function. If you cannot afford buy used or brand new, there is always the option of renting one or actually just hiring someone to do it for you, like a nephew or a neighbour who is willing enough. Anyway you only do it once or twice a year.

Being sceptical is quite alright, as long as it is focused on the right reasons. Make sure that you are aware of what you are buying, be it brand new or used. There are some brand new tillers from manufacturing companies that no one has ever heard of. Sit in front of the computer and try to browse garden equipment sites that sell both brand new and used equipment. Talk to someone who knows what to expect and what to look for in a machine. Remember, these should not just last a year of gardening, it should last several years or even more if the maintenance is updated regularly and the used tillers are not left to rust or under the mercy of the elements.

Mary Sadelwind blogs about her small gardens and how she maintains them. Read more about rototillers and pull behind tiller.

Flower gardening is becoming more and more popular every day. Flowers can brighten everyone’s day, they smell nice, and are a great hobby. Flower gardening is simple, inexpensive, and loads of fun. Flower gardening can be done for yard decoration, simply as a hobby, or even professionally.

There are some decisions that have to be made before even flower gardening can be started. You must decide if you want annuals that live for one season and must be replanted every year, or perennials that survive the winter and return again in the summer. When buying and planting, pay attention to what kind of flowers thrive in your climate as well ass the sun requirements..

When flower gardening, you must decide what type of look you want before planting. For instance, mixing different heights, colors, and varieties of flowers together in a “wild-plant style” will give your garden a meadow look and can be very charming. If short flowers are planted in the front of your garden and work up to the tallest flowers in the back you will have a “stepping stone style”.

You can order seeds for flower gardening from catalogues or buy them from a nursery. Most people will go to the nursery and buy actual flowers and then transplant them. After you have prepared your garden area and bought flowers, it is a good idea to lay the flowers out in the bed to make sure you like the arrangement and that they will be spaced properly.

One of the easiest processes in flower gardening is the planting/ if you have seeds just sprinkle them around in the flower bed. For planting transplants dig a hole just bigger than the flower, pull the container off, and set the flower in the hole right side up. Cover it with the loose soil and press down firmly, then water.Maintaining a flower garden is even easier than planting one. Although they might make it on their own, a bag of fertilizer applied in the early spring is a good idea. Pinch back any blooms after they start to fade and keep them good and watered. To save yourself work during the next season of flower gardening, rid your garden of all debris and spread out organic nutrients like peat moss or compost. Don’t forget to turn over the soil to properly mix in the fertilizer and rake smooth when finished. If you have perennials planted be careful not to disturb their roots in this process.

Flower gardening is as easy as 1, 2, and 3: simply decide what to plant; plant it, and water, water, water! Flower gardening is undoubtedly gaining in popularity and gives anyone excellent reason to spend some outdoors and test out their green thumb.

Many gardeners do not even consider fall gardening because of the winter frosts that might make an early appearance. On the contrary, fall gardening will result in excellent vegetables and will extend crops long after spring planted plants are finished. Vegetables produced from fall gardening are sometimes sweeter and milder than those grow in the summer and offer a brand new taste to the same old veggies.

What you choose to grow during you fall gardening will depend on your available space and what you like to eat, just like spring plants. Even the crops that enjoy the heat, such as tomatoes, sweet potatoes, okra, and peppers, will produce until frosts hit, which can be pretty late in the year in southern areas. However, there are some plants that will quit towards the end of summer like snap-beans, summer squash, and cucumbers. If these vegetables are planted around the middle of the summer they can be harvested until the first frosts as well. Hardy, tough vegetables will grow until the temperature is as low as 20 degrees, but those that aren’t as strong will only be able to grow through light frosts. Remember that if you have root and tuber plants and the tops are killed by a freeze the edible part can be saved if a large amount of mulch is used.

When fall gardening, make sure and pick the vegetables with the shortest growing season so they can be full grown and harvested before the frost arrives. Most seed packages will be labeled “early season”, or you can find the seeds boasting the fewest days to maturity. You may want to go after your seeds for fall gardening in spring or early summer; they are usually not kept in stock towards the end of summer. If they are stored in a cool and dry location they will keep until you are ready to plant.

In order to know exactly when the best time to start fall gardening, you must know about when the first hard frost will hit your area. One of the best ways to tell this is by a Farmer’s Almanac. They will give you exact dates and are rarely wrong. You will also need to know exactly how long it is going to take your plants to mature.

To get your soil ready for fall gardening you must first remove any leftover spring/summer crops and weeds. Crops leftover from the last season can end up spreading bacteria and disease if left in the garden. Spread a couple of inches of compost or mulch over the garden area to increase the nutrients, however, if spring plants were fertilized heavily it may not need much, if any. Till the top layer of soil, wet it down, and let it set for about 12-24 hours. Once this has been done, you are ready to start planting.

Many gardeners will run from fall gardening so they don’t have to deal with frosts, but if tough, sturdy vegetables are planted they can withstand a few frosts and give you some wonderful tasting produce. Fall gardening gives you the chance to enjoy your vegetable garden for at least a little bit more time.