Archive for the ‘conservation agriculture’ category

How to Setup Your Own Garden

July 7th, 2011

Figuring out which gardening tips to follow can be quite a challenge. So much of the information out there is conflicting that sorting through it all can be very time consuming. Gardening is more involved than simply tossing some seeds into your yard and watering them every once in a while. Gardening takes hard work. It be time consuming. It won’t take long for you to realize that working in your garden, in spite of all of the time and energy it takes from you, is incredibly rewarding. Here are some gardening tips to help you grow the garden of your dreams!

Growing more than one plant can be tricky-put a schedule together for yourself and follow it. Input the number of times your plants need to be watered. Write down exactly when you plan on adding nutrients to the soil of each of your plants. Put all of these things onto your calendar and then follow the instructions on your calendar each day. Even your weeding schedule could be put on the calendar! This mapping and scheduling will help ensure that your plants grow to be healthy and thriving. If you haven’t ever grown a garden before, keeping the details on a calendar can help you make sure that you don’t miss anything. Bees are great! Even if you hate the idea of having bees near you, you need to learn to deal with them because they are good for your garden.

Bees are how pollen gets spread around your garden (which helps the plants grow). Plants cannot grow fruit or bloom until they’ve been “fertilized” with pollen. So, basically, you need to get used to seeing and dealing with bees. In fact, you might even think about doing whatever you can to attract the bees to your garden! One of the easiest ways to attract bees to your garden is to plant tomatillo plants; bees love tomatillos. Take care to plant more than one tomatillo plant because bees are not good at sharing; in fact, one of the best ways to get stung is to try to fight with bees to get the fruit from a tomatillo plant-instead, plant some tomatillos for yourself in another part of the garden.

Always remember that gardening happens throughout the whole year. Even during the cold winter months when not much is growing, there is work to be done. For example, you will need to prepare your garden’s soil for colder weather. Most of the spring plants you like so much get planted during the last few frosts of the year. Learn how to take care of your garden even when the plants are not blooming. You will have a far more successful and healthy garden if you do your best to take care of your garden plot throughout the whole year. Growing a garden doesn’t have to be hard. A thriving garden is inevitable if you are willing to put in the time, the effort and the work that goes along with growing and caring for plants. You just need to practice patience. It takes time to grow a garden that will flourish. Pretty much every person on the planet can learn to grow a wonderful garden. You don’t need to come pre-built with super gardening powers or a green thumb. You just need to find the right gardening tips to follow and you will be on your way.

Creating Your Own Wildlife Garden

July 5th, 2011

Often gardens are completely shut out from the rest of nature and are not the best for attracting local wildlife. Obviously, for some this is perfect but for others who may want to open their gardens up to the surrounding landscape and possibly attract birds amongst other wildlife, designing your garden in a particular way can help make this happen. One of the first things to do to achieve this is to map out the surrounding area and see how this can fit in terms of wildlife, look out for ponds and streams for example and see how these can complement your garden landscape.

In order to attract birds you will need to provide food, water and a suitable nesting area that has enough shelter. Providing for different species is necessary and planting a range of berry-producing vegetation can attract more varieties of bird. Plants that grow around the local area can also help in attracting indigenous species of birds, so this can also prove useful. Food will also need to be varied to match the seasons your garden goes through. In spring, for example berry-producing shrubs are the best while during the summer hanging several containers full of seed can prove more useful for attracting wildlife. Always make sure these feeders are full however, as often birds may become dependent on this method and having a fully stocked container can help keep the birds visiting.

Plants on the other hand offer a great source of shelter for birds. Evergreens and other shrubbery can provide good nesting areas as well as protection from the weather during the colder months. By planting several more dense shrubs, you can make your garden a much more hospitable place for wildlife, thus attracting many more birds. Finally, water is also a great way to attract birds and if there is a lack of a natural source around a birdbath can generally be very beneficial by offering something to drink from and bathe within. Be sure to keep it stocked regularly and if it freezes over during winter make sure to break the ice so it becomes accessible.

Always remember that gardens promote life and that can only be a good thing in today’s society. We need to find new and sustainable ways of promoting life and nature and not harm what is given to us. Beginning from our home, in our very back yard is exactly what needs to be done.