Posts tagged "gardeners"

New frontiers in green gardening: Fresh ideas from author of ‘The Conscientious Gardener’

Green gardening isn’t just about compost bins and rain barrels anymore.

The ecologically aware can select native plants, analyze their soil, even take steps to protect local fish populations.

Yes, you read that last bit about the fish correctly.

“We actually have a whole program on salmon-safe gardening here in the Seattle area,” says Sarah Hayden Reichard, professor of conservation biology at the University of Washington and author of “The Conscientious Gardener: Cultivating a Garden Ethic” (University of California Press).

Phosphorus from garden fertilizers sinks into the soil and eventually flows out into waterways, causing excess plant growth, which eventually leads to depletion of oxygen in the water, she says.

“It’s an interconnected world, and when you do something in one place it affects things in other places, in ways that we can barely imagine,” says Reichard. She offers fresh ideas for green gardeners:

Pick the right plants: Native plants are great if you want to support local wildlife and give your yard an authentic sense of place but, Reichard cautions, some can be major water hogs and others may prove to be invasive. Just because a plant is native to your broad region, it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s native to the precise area where you live. And regions and landscapes change over time, meaning that a plant that’s theoretically a great match may actually be a pest or a threat.

Gardeners can find good information on plants, native and invasive, at local botanic gardens and arboretums, as well as from local conservation groups.

Respect your soil: It isn’t always easy to love the soil you’ve got, but you’ll save resources and reduce waste. Accept that you may not be able to grow certain plants in wet or clay soils, and don’t feel that you’ve got to pump your soil up with large amounts of organic matter.

“You (generally) need 10 percent or less organic components – people think you need much more,” she says.

Go easy on fertilizer: “Fertilizers are among the worst polluting culprits – and it does not matter if they are from organic or synthetic sources,” she writes.

The elements nitrogen and phosphorus are good for garden plants, but they’re bad for fresh water, she writes. She suggests fertilizing most woody plants and herbaceous perennials sparingly. Mulching with well-aged manure, compost or other easily broken-down materials is sufficient.

Reichard uses fertilizer on her vegetables, roses and containers, but not on her lawn and shrubs. In the fall, she rakes leaves into beds and lets them decay over the winter, enriching her soil.

Use less water: “Water is a finite resource, and as the human population grows, we have less of it to go around,” Reichard says.

She suggests choosing plants that don’t require much water, reducing your lawn area and putting water-hogging plants only in areas that are naturally wet. You can also group plants with the same water needs, minimizing waste.

“It is generally best for plants if you water deeply and less often: usually about an inch of water, including precipitation, each week is enough,” she writes.

PEAT MOSS ALTERNATIVES

Peat moss holds moisture well and it’s popular among gardeners. Unfortunately, it’s harvested by draining and destroying peat bogs, some of which are centuries old, and that’s cause for concern, says Sarah Hayden Reichard. Many scientists believe that peat bogs, which hold vast amounts of carbon, can help prevent global warming.

Reichard suggests some peat alternatives, among them:

Coco peat, coir and coir dust, which are made from coconut fibers and offer peat-comparable water absorption and drainage. Buy coir labeled for horticultural use to avoid high salinity.

Compost, or decomposing organic matter (often leaves, grass, manure, bark or nutshells). Compost offers water absorption similar to peat’s and is generally higher in nutrients such as nitrogen.

Food4Wealth – The Secret to the Easiest Way to Grow Fresh Organic Vegetables in your Veggie Garden without digging or weeding – low effort way to grow food

Hi, my name is Jonathan White. Here I am in my garden surrounded by fresh, healthy organic carrots, lettuces, tomatoes, zucchinis, celery, spring onions, swiss chard, baby spinach, parsnip, cucumber, potatoes and pumpkin. A week earlier I pulled out some delicious sweet corn plants that had finished, and in their place tiny broccoli, cauliflower, and chinese cabbage seedlings are emerging, in perfect time for the winter crop…

This method is based on ecology, and not horticulture. You see, the problem with horticulture is that it is problem-focused. Have you noticed that gardening books are filled with ways to fix problems? People seem to love creating problems where problems don’t need to exist. Well, it doesn’t have to be that way!
Read more…

Gardening | Make a statement with black petunias

There are hundreds of black plants. You are likely familiar with the Black Parrot tulip. It is a purple-black tulip that was introduced in 1937. You may also know Queen of the Night tulip another would-be black tulip introduced in 1944; it is actually maroon-black.

The first black hyacinth, Midnight Mystic, arrived in the market in 2007 after 16 years in development. The Black Velvet petunia took only four years to breed, and it was done traditionally using pollen – no genetic engineering. Both plants have flowers that are black at a distance, but upon closer scrutiny have a purple tinge.

There is no black flower in nature. A truly black flower is unattainable because plants do not make a black pigment. The black-looking color in the plant world comes from anthocyanins, pigments which produce red, purple and blue. The pigments are in all parts of a plant: leaves, flowers, stems, roots, vegetables and fruits. Picture black elephant ear, black pansy blooms, black stemmed bamboo, black radishes, eggplant, black cherries and so on.

Some gardeners are infatuated with black flowers and foliage; others are completely uninterested in them. The rest of us who straddle the middle of the two extremes have an open mind to their place in the garden.

In the landscape dark colors recede. As a result black plants can make a garden look larger. Black also draws the eye. Astute placement of dark foliage plants can lead the eye across a landscape. Black accentuates light colors and makes bright colors more vivid. Working with black flowers and foliage is an interesting way to exercise your creativity in the garden. Imagine the effect of a garden path edged with black mondo grass.

However, black has no impact in certain other garden environments. Against a dark background black flowers and foliage disappear, and they are invisible during the night.

Look for Black Velvet (Black Cat) petunias in nurseries for your fall gardens and containers. Its black flowers will pair beautifully with the red orange, yellow, lime and burgundy colors in coleus, for example. Caution: Both petunias and coleus are frost tender, so be prepared to cover them if we have an early frost.

Keep your eyes open for black pansies and violas, too. Plants with black and orange blooms turn up in nurseries for gardeners to use in Halloween displays. Later add yellow and burgundy for Thanksgiving or some bright colors for a cheerful winter show of color. As you know pansies and violas are winter hardy.

You may have noticed advertising for the Black Velvet petunia accompanied by the tagline: “Everything goes with black.” For a sophisticated look try it with white, Diamond Frost euphorbia for example, or pair it with a silver plant like dusty miller. Experiment with your favorite bright or pastel colors. Unless you just don’t like black, the color really does go with everything.