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>> Plants and Gardening Info
GARDEN LORE
There are many easy, economical and effective ways of keeping a more healthier and disease free garden. There are also lots of other not so well known facts, tips and interesting garden knowledge which can also be made useful. We are aiming to list tips and ideas that are not so well known. Maybe you can use some of these ideas in your own garden, or maybe you will just learn some new pieces of garden intrigue. It is not listed alphabetically, just as it comes. We hope that you enjoy these listings. We will be adding to this site regularly. NEED NITROGEN?Some plants that fix nitrogen into the soil: Some non-nitrogen fixers: VARIEGATED PLANTSAs a rule variegated plants can often burn in full sun and should be sheltered.HEDGES FOR ANIMAL PROOFING - DECIDUOUSBeech / fagus sylvatica - slowBlackthorn / Prunus spinosa - quick Field maple / Acer campestre Hawthorn / Crataeugus monogyna - quick Roses Flowering quince Carpinus betulus - slow HEDGES FOR ANIMAL PROOFING - EVERGREENBerberis stenophyllaEscallonia Holly - Ilex Heylandiicyprus - quick Pyracantha Tecomaria - quick MAKE YOUR OWN NATURAL GARDEN SPRAYSSoak leaves in water for 3 days. Remove leaves. Use water in a spray bottle.Artemisia - cabbage worms Basil - aphids, asparagus beetle Catnip - beetles Chestnut - beetroot moths Chives - apple scab, mildew on cucumbers, gooseberries, squash and pumpkin Citrus - armyworms and bollworms Coriander - aphids and spider mites Elderberry - aphids, carrot flies, cucumber beetle, peach tree borers and root maggots Eucalyptus - generally beneficial Garlic - many uses: aphids, caterpillars, codling moth, Japanese beetle, root maggots, Rust and snails Horseradish - Fungus on fruit trees Horsetail - slugs and snails Ivy - corn wireworms Mint - beetles and ants Parsley - asparagus beetle Pelargonium - cabbage moths, corn earworms, Japanese beetle Pepper/Capsicum - generally beneficial, blackspot Rhubarb - mites on vines Salvia officinalis - cabbage worms Thyme - cabbage worms Tomato - Asparagus beetle Wormwood - fleas WANT TO ATTRACT BIRDS?Here are some ideas:Acacia Amelanchier Beech Berberis x stenophylla Berry bearing plants Buddleja species Ceanothus Cornus Correa sp. Cotoneaster Crataegus Eleagnus pungens Eucalypts Garryaelliptica Hakea species Hedera Holly Hydranga petiolaris Isopogon species Jasmine Lambertia species Laurel Mahonia Melaleuca species Grevillea species Pandorea jasminoides Petrophile species Pyrancantha Roses Wisteria A CHEAP AND EFFECTIVE DO IT YOURSELF PH TESTA quick pH soil test. Drop a small piece of soil into a jar of vinegar. If the vinegar starts to bubble, your soil has plenty of lime. If there are no bubbles, lime your soil with 100g of lime to the square metre.A TIP FOR THOSE WHO CAN'T RESIST ACID LOVING PLANTSIf you do not have acid soil, but cannot resist growing certain acid loving plants, then do the following ... Water your plants with dilute vinegar. 4 tablespoons of vinegar per 1/2 litre of water once a month during the growing season. Or add coffee grounds to the soil, the slight acidity takes the edge off an alkaline environment.SHEEP'S WOOL FOR SOILSheep's wool helps to break down clay soil, improves aeration and drains the soil. It also adds nutrients to the soil as it breaks down.FAT FOR FLOWERSFat is good for flowers, so don't throw it away after you have roasted meat etc. Keep it and plant under roses or climbing plants. The plants will love it. Mice will not be a problem if you bury it at least 45cm deep and then mix crushed garlic into the soil to keep them off the scent.MILK FOR PLANTSMilk is good for plants. Rinse out your milk bottles around plants - they will thrive.TIME FOR TEACamellias, geraniums pelargoniums love tea leaves dug into the soil around them. The tannic acid also helps to keep pests and disease away.PLANTS DETERMINE SOIL TYPE.The weeds and wild plants that you may have in your garden may determine the soil type, which lay beneath these garden intruders. As the saying goes ... ' Gold under thistle, silver under rushes, famine under heath.' Thistles grow in rich fertile soil. Rushes need reasonable fertile soil to flourish and heathers grow in acid soil which is inhospitable to many plants. Nettles like rich, damp soil, they send their roots out deep to mine for minerals, so when you pull them up you are left with mineral-rich soil ready to supply your plants with many good elements that they need. Soil that has had nettles in them are good for soft fruiting trees. Or if they are growing nearby to other plants can help them to resist many diseases. If your soil is lacking nitrogen, plants that fix it from their air will be evident. Particularly plants from the pea family ...Trifolium pratense, Medicago lupulina Lupins Clover Mustard Sorrel species suggest a lack of lime in the soil. Dandelion, wild mustard, pigweed - amaranthus species will only grow in really fertile soil. These should make you feel confident that you have quite a good balanced soil. WHICH MANURE?All manures are good for the garden, but, poultry manure is the best of all the manures for your garden. It is particularly high in nitrogen and has many different trace elements. Make sure it is quite old before you use in your garden beds. Be careful with manure in the vegetable garden. Potatoes thrive on manure. But do not use near carrots or any other root vegetables. It will prevent the roots to reach deep into the soil.PLANT HEALTH TIPIf the leaves of trees in your yard are yellow while the leaf veins remain green, this is probably a common condition called chlorosis, which means your soil lacks iron. You could place nails in the soil around the root ball. You can make a simple feed for plants with this condition, by steeping some old scouring pads in water for a week, then use this liquid on iron-deficient plants.NATURAL FERTILISERSManure - well aged. Can be used fresh in very sandy soil in fall.Compost Seaweed - the best mulch, fertiliser or soil enhancer. It has every trace element needed for good plant health Straw combined with grass clippings. (Straw used alone as a mulch can draw nitrogen from the soil. Ad the grass clippings to compensate for this.) Lucerne is even better than straw because it adds nitrogen to the soil. Autumn leaves - store in bags for about 6-12 months sometimes the time can be shorter. You will then have a good leaf mulch. Full of rich vitamins and minerals for the garden. Peanut shells - carbon rich, helps to aerate compost bins. BANANA SKINSPut banana skins in the hole before planting your roses, lavender or where you have planted vegetables. They rot quickly providing the soil with calcium, magnesium, sulphur, phosphates, sodium, and silica.COMFREY TO COMPOSTComfrey planted near to, or added to your compost helps aid the rotting process and adds many valuable nutrients.BEST HOURS FOR PLANTING SEEDSSowing between 2pm and 4pm gives a better rate of germination than sowing in the morning or early evening. This is because of the temperature-sensitive phase of the germination process is completed at night when soil temperatures are lower.HOW TO PREVENT DAMPING OFFSow seed into trays sparsely. Overcrowding can encourage damping off fungus. Or your seedlings can become week if seeds are overcrowded in trays also.MULCHESFresh lawn clippings are good for a weed suppressant. Onions and most vegetables love to have grass clippings as a mulch.Manure Mushroom compost - never use on acid loving plants. Pine bark mulch - only use on established plants not seedlings. LIQIUD FERTILISERFill a bucket half way with a collection of compost, manure and weeds. Then fill it to the top with water. Allow to steep for about 24 hours, stirring occasionally. Then use the then 'amber fluid' as a plant pick me up and general liquid fertiliser. Do not use on herbs and be careful not to splash on plant leaves.Comfrey tea is one of the best fertilisers you could make. Put as much comfrey leaves into a bucket and then cover with water. Allow to steep for about 2-4 weeks. (Beware it is smelly!!). To prevent them from smelling, just allow them to rot down without water, they will rot to a thick liquid then just add water to a small amount as you need it. Diluting to a thin liquid.
ASHAsh being used in soil can create salt imbalances in the soil.EPSOM SALTIn very wet summers, magnesium and iron may be leached out of the soil, causing leaves to go yellow between the veins, and leaves may fall early. A simple traditional magnesium boost is to water the roots and/or leaves with Epsom salts - dilute 220 grams in 10 litres of water.EASY AND SAFE WAYS TO REPEL APHIDSIf you are having trouble with aphids, try sprinking garlic powder over the affected plants, or use garlic spray. Banana skins put on the ground around roses can also deter aphids.Lemon grass is another plant that can repel aphids also. It's good to try and make sure that insect never take a liking to your plants. If you dig in garlic cloves for example around your rose bushes, they excude sulphur and other minerals into the soil which is then taken up by the rose which will act as an effective insecticide. This remedy will also protect your roses from black spot.. Anything from the Allium/onion family will do the same thing. Chives and wild garlic looks nice planted under roses, but at the same time is doing the roses a valuable service. EASY AND SAFE WAYS TO RID AREAS OF ANTSA traditional way of destroying ant nests is to pour boiling water over their nests. To make this process more effective you could add several drops of strong chilli oil.CARROT FLIESCarrot flies hunt by smell, so try and deter them by sprinkle strong, aromatic herbs or garlic around or in the soil underneath where you are to sow the carrot seeds. Parsley or onions sown nearby will also keep the carrot fly from the carrots.FLOWER COLOUR ATTRACTING INSECTSYellow flowers were planted in vegetable gardens, in the belief that this would repel insects. In fact they actually encourage insects, because most are attracted to yellow. Planted yellow flowers in the vegetable garden should actually lure the insects to the yellow instead of the vegetables.BARRIERS FOR SNAILS AND SLUGSKeep snails away from certain plants that they are attracted to by encircling the plants with the following ...Sawdust Crushed shells Coarse sand Crushed egg shells Bran ... if they eat the bran it will swell up inside them and kill them. Bran is also a good soil conditioner. RIDDING YOUR GARDEN OF RABBITSRabbits do not like the smell of blood. Scattering blood and bone around certain areas of the garden can be a good deterrent to rabbitsHEALTHY CABBAGESTo prevent club root in cabbages bury sticks of rhubarb when planting out your cabbage seedlings. Rhubarab contains oxalic acid that deters the enzymes that cause club root.EASY, SAFE AND ECONOMICAL GARDEN SPRAYS.GARLIC SPRAY Crush a large garlic bulb into 1 litre of cold water. Boil for five minutes and allow to cool. Strain and use as a spray for a fungicide and insecticide.ONION SPRAY Soak a large bunch of onions leaves in a bucket of water for a few days. Strain the liquid and spray liberally over plants every two weeks to prevent mildew. Spray on any other infected plants twice weekly.BAKING SODA SPRAY This is an excellent fungicide. Mix 2 tablespoons of baking soda in 2 litre of water and spray as necessary on affected areas.ANTIRUST BAKING SODA SPRAY Add to the above spray 3 tablespoons of horticultural oil and 1 tablespoon of liquid seaweed. Spray liberally onto plants as soon as the first signs of rust appear.VINEGAR SPRAY This is another good fungicide. Mix 2 tablespoons of cider vinegar into 2 litres of water, then use as spray on to affected areas. Spray in the morning or early evening.BLACK MUSTARD TEA A tea made from boiling and steeping leaves of black mustard, (this is a weed), deters cabbage butterflies from laying their eggs. Black mustard is a tall weed smothered in small, bright yellow flowers.PLANTS WHICH ROB FROM SOIL - NEEDING EXTRA FEEDSGarden beds with delphiniums, peonies, clematis, ranunculus species need to have their garden beds constantly fed. These plants rob the soil of potassium and other trace elements and secretions from their roots can poison nitrogen bacteria. A good feeding of chicken manure or seaweed would be good.HOUSEPLANTSHouseplants and greenhouse plants do not like cold water. You should use water at least as warm as the air temperature. Water that is too cold shocks the plants system. It can damage roots and cause white scarred leaves. Vegetable water is perfect for houseplants, because it contains all sorts of nutrients from cooked vegetables. Old aquarium water is also oxygen and nutrient rich.CUT FLOWERS LASTING LONGERMost flowers last longer if their stems are nipped and squashed. Flowers with hard stems keep longer if the stems are split. Cut of a little more every couple of days so the stems don't rot. Chrysanthemums and azaleas do better if the cut ends are immersed in hot water for a minute before placing them into the vase. Or singe the ends of azalea over a flame just after they've been cut. Lilies last longer if you turn upside down and run cold water over the stems for a minute before arranging.INSECT BITE RELIEFA sliced onion pressed onto an insect bite relieves the itch and prevents swelling. Onions have cooling and antiseptic propertiesSEEDLING TIPIf you have pussywillows nearby, you should put them in a vase for as long as possible. When its time to throw them out use the water on your seedlings and cuttings. Willow water contains indolebutyric acid which is a constitute of commercial rooting compound and promotes strong root growthECHINACEA.Try making a paste by crushing the leaves of echinacea and then apply it to stings and bites. You will feel a numbing effect, rather like a local anaestheticPLANTS THAT CAN INDICATE POORLY DRAINED SOIL.Cat-tails - TyphaHorse-tails - Equisetum sp. Joe-pye weeds - Eupatorium purpureum Ragged robins - Lychnis floscuculi Sedges - Carex Lobelia cardinalis Silverweed - Potentilla anserina Coltsfoot - Tussilago farfara Anagalis tenella WEATHER PLANTSAnagalis arvensis closes or folds its leaves before rain.Baptisia tinctoria closes or folds it leaves before rain. Anemone nemorosa closess its petals and droops before rain. Heliotrope arborescens won't open if rain is coming. Bellis daisies close up completely before rain. Lilac is quicker to open in the morning when rain is on the way. And slower when the air is dry. If the African marigold hasn't opened by 8am it is said that it will rain or thunder that morning. Crocus' open their blossoms when the temperature rises, closing again when it falls. Tulips open their blossoms when the temperature rises, closing again when it falls. Leaves tremble more when damp air softens the leaf stalks, so it is valid to assume that unsteady leaves on a still day mean rain is coming. COMPASS PLANTSSunflowers prefer to grow in full sun, their heads turning to follow the east-west path of the sun during the day, offering some clue to direction. The compass plant Silphium lactinianum is supposed to provide more accurate directional guidance. Its leaves are said to radiate from the stem in north and south directions, apparently so the warm sun dries them out less. But this is not proven.CLOCK PLANTSClock plants are not always accurate. For an example four o'clock plants bloom in the late afternoon and are open throughout the night. They can also open throughout the day on cloudy days.Scarlett pimpernel is also known as shepherds clock and shepherds calender. The scarlet flowers open at about 8am and close at about 3pm. Cichorium intybus open at 7am and close at noon. Ornithogalum umbellatum is often known as the 10 o'clock lady or nap at noon. It's white flowers only open on bright sunny days and closes its flowers at noon. Tragopogon pratensis also closes its flowers at noon, hence its common name Jack-go-to-bed-at-noon. Morning glory is another clock plant. Its full flowering glory is best seen on a bright morning, the flowers are closed by mid afternoon. Mirabilis jalapa avoid bright sunlight, preferring to flower in the evening. Evening primrose avoid bright sunlight, preferring to flower in the evening. Most fragrant plants are at their most fragrant in the evenings including jasminum officinale, nicotiana alata, Mathiola incana, they then attract particular night-flying pollinators. WORM FACTOne worm can shift 30 tons of soil a year.
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PLANT AND GARDENING INFO
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