All About Gardening

Gardening is perhaps one of the best hobbies that a more laborious nature lover can take up. The reason why I choose to call this hobby laborious is because it surely does involve a good deal of physical activity. This hobby is not meant for those nature lovers who simply want to bask in the natural beauty that already exists. Rather it is an ideal pass time for those who want to make their own contribution to the nature.

In order to be successful in gardening one must have the following qualities: -

1.) Besides having a love for gardening you should also have the will and determination to pursue your hobby.

2.) You must be physically fit and agile. Laziness and gardening are anonymous to each other.

3.) Learn to exchange your ideas and information with like-minded people who can show an equal passion for gardening.

4.) Try laying your hands on almost any books, magazines or articles that can enhance your knowledge on gardening.

5.) Be prepared to invest a small amount of your earnings in purchasing the “Can’t do without”, gardening tools.

The world of gardening is wide and it has immense possibilities for those who want to explore it with the right zeal and enthusiasm. You can choose from indoor gardening, outdoor gardening, landscaping, cultivating exotic herbs, growing bonsais and thus the list is endless. However it is important to do a fair amount of research work before delving into any of the above fields. You should master up the art of choosing the right plants and also learn the techniques favorable for their productivity and growth.

Growing plants is not enough. Deciding where the plants should grow is also an important aspect of gardening. Nothing can be more distasteful than a garden which has color clashing flowers growing all around in a haphazardly manner. So be careful about allocating the plants their respective locations. Arrange the assortments of flowers in accordance with their heights, textures and colors so that they complement each other without diminishing the beauty of your garden.

Keep aside one day from the entire week to be your gardening day. Generally week -ends would be a good choice. On this day, equip your self with all the essential gardening tools and accessories and get down to your work. If you have children or friends who are equally interested in gardening call for their assistance. The more the merrier!

Once you are done for the day clean your tools well and store them in their right place. Be sure to maintain your gardening tools because well maintained tools can give you years of good performance. After all tools aren’t something that you can afford to buy every week.

Whether you are an efficient gardener or not can be best proved by your garden itself. So stop twiddling your thumbs and put your green fingers to use. As far as gardening is concerned, if you have really put in hard work your efforts will never go futile.

A Waste of Packaged Gold

As we drove by the plush residential homes, some recently covered with a fresh coating of paint and with the variously landscaped yards displaying their beautiful spired shrubs, flowering gardens and well watered green lawns, it could not be helped but to notice the evenly placed lawn bags filled to the brim with yard waste, just waiting to be carried away by the scheduled garbage pickup. So much labor must have gone into neatly and 

carefully packing each one of them so they wouldn't be torn open by a stiff twig or two. Each fall and spring a similar scene is reenacted by most of us who seasonally do our traditional yard cleanup. 

Having been a fairly devout organic gardener in the 1980's and traditionally would save every bit of waste clippings from our yard that would then go into a 4x4 foot by 4 feet high loosely constructed wooden bin for later processing and churning into a fine mulch, it was difficult to see virtually truckloads of "Organic Gold Plant Food" just waiting to 

be carted away to some landfill, or just possibly be used for fuel in some local utility supplier's furnace. It is beyond my understanding how this "fuel" for plants can be placed on the discard list. 

With this fresh on my mind, I recollect a book written by Ruth Stout, an avid gardener, who appropriately called her book..."The No Work Garden" which showed how she only used bales of hay in the 1950's and earlier to build her garden, spread the hay in the fall and after being well compressed through the winter, she would then simply place the vegetable seed into a small clump of soil at the proper planting time, pressed it firmly and watered to get the seed to germinate. Thereafter, her garden was never watered again. She did this year after year ...for thirty years. The soil was perfectly PH level balanced and so were all the required nutrients to sustain all the plants. Sounds like the perfect scenario, but this example is only to show what can be done with most of anyone's yard 

refuse...if properly processed.

Now, to step back to my 4-foot cube of diverse organic refuse and having filled the bin to about the 3/4 mark by eye, placing a shovelful of topsoil in between 3-4 inch layers of the material, we simply add worms, which can be purchased at a local farm store, or mail ordered through a garden supplier. Usually, they come in a few hundred in quantity and are newborns, but you can also use local worms, picked from decayed leaf. Once placed in your compost bin and watered occasionally, they will quickly multiply and digest the organic material aerating your compost in the process. This process is carried out...automatically without energy expended on anyone's part, except for the original placement of the material and bin construction. After 3 or 4 weeks, given proper rainfall and a little watering, your "pot of gold" should be ready to use. Then, simply place a handful of this composted material in a small hole 6 inches deep, for pre-started tomato plants several inches tall, where you plan to plant your vegetable garden. Pack some of this compost mixed with some topsoil around the sides and also dress around the top of each plant. Given the proper rain, sunshine and warmth, your tomatoes will give you a very early harvest, mainly because you did not discard the "hidden gold".