Raised Bed Gardening - How to Grow Well in Small Spaces

What is raised bed gardening and why should you be interested? It is -- usually -- done in some kind of raised bed gardening in containers. There are square raised beds, rectangular raised beds, and round raised beds. You can make a raised bed just about any shape you want and, yes, container planters are a form of raised bed.

Raised Bed Gardening and the New Homeowner

I asked the lumber yard to cut these pieces 4 feet long for two 4x4 square raised beds.

After that, I went over to the garden center and picked up eight bags of garden soil.
I learned about raised bed gardening from watching garden shows on TV including Mel Bartholomew's TV show on PBS, "Square Foot Gardening".

Hey, how hard can it be to nail four boards together to form a four foot by four foot raised bed garden box?

The pressure of the garden soil also helped keep the shape of the raised bed garden box together.

It's astonishing how much could grow in a small raised bed garden. One of the greatest advantages to raised bed gardening is that you control the soil content.

Build some raised beds and filled them with a mix of garden soil, compost and something to lighten it up -- vermiculite, perlite, peat moss, or even some sand. One of the things you want to avoid in raised bed or container gardening is heavy soil density. If you have a bad back or you have avoided gardening because you don't want to look like one of those pieces of bent over garden art -- you know the ones, women with fat butts in bloomers -- build your garden beds higher.

You can stack your raised beds on top of each other. You can grow just about anything in a raised bed. From potatoes to tomatoes to a cutting garden full of zinnias, you can do it in a raised bed.

Garden Versatility with Raised Bed Gardening

Cultivating soil in a traditional row garden takes time. Using raised beds allows you to garden instantly.

May - Northern Planting and Garden Making Month

May is the main planting and garden making month of the year for those in the North. Although planting of dormant trees and shrubs can be started in April, most of the planting is done in May. A late spring, or unfavorable weather in April, often delays the planting or transplanting of woody ornamentals until May. This of course, is the time to plant dormant fruit trees and floweringcrabapples. Fall planting is too risky for them, but it is safe for all other woody, deciduous plants when properly handled and given winter protection.

The rosy blossomed varieties of ornamental crabapples are the most colorful of the small trees that will grow in the North. Planted along the borderline of the property, they also provide cover and protection so essential in attracting birds.

Attention also should be directed to the planting of the sugar maple as an ornamental and shade tree. Few trees can rival it for autumn color, good growth habit and hardiness. If not done in April, all small fruits such as plums, cherries, cherryplums, raspberries, currants, gooseberries, grapes and strawberries should be planted as early in May as possible. Plants should be purchased from reliable local sources. Plants are handled with greater care and given protection against sun and winds that might be hard on the tender, new growth. VV hen spruce, pine and fir are in an advanced stage of new growth, they are not planted.

Home Depot Gardening - Your One Stop Shop For Gardening Tools

A gardening enthusiast can get all the equipment and paraphernalia that they would need for their garden at the Home Depot store in the gardening section. One can also get seeds, plants and plant products, fertilisers, pest control products and any other fancy stuff for your garden. Gardening tips and books on gardening are also available here.

Tips on planting According to the expert tips of the Home Depot, it is better to plant flowers on a day when the sky is overcast and it may rain instead of on a warm sunny day. The rain will do the plants a lot of good. So it is better to plant the new plants for the year and the perennial plants before the last frost date for he season. How to choose your new plants It will help to be careful while choosing your new plants. How to prepare a flower bed Mix at least one inch of organic matter into a flower bed that has been prepared with a spade. For plants that have to be planted annually you should loosen the soil up to a depth of 12 inches and for perennials to a depth of 18 inches. After you have planted the potted plants in the soil, add between one to three inches of organic mulch like pine needles, bark, grass clippings or wood chip mulch. The volume of textures colors, sizes, and forms, has placed annuals a favorite with gardeners and plant lovers.

When choosing this type of plant, if at all possible, make your life easier and choose a disease and insect resistant variety. Understanding the needs of different annual varieties and the typical climate where you, you'll likely be successful growing annual plants. The local gardening center or plant nursery can point you in the direction of the best annuals for your needs.

While out in the garden, look closely at your plants for the presence of insects or infestation. Watering is a necessity for annuals however, avoid overhead watering of whenever you can. That's because excessive water on the foliage encourages different types of diseases. Plant diseases thrive in moisture, therefore standing water on annuals is a surefire way to blanket your garden with present disease, or encourage a new one to develop and spread

To water your gardens use soaker hose or drip irrigation if at all possible. If you find any insects on your plant, place them in a plastic bag and drive down to a garden center for identification. Remember, you must identify the pests first, before your can effectively rid them from your garden plants.

Tips and Techniques For Watering Your Container Garden Plants

The importance of proper watering cannot be stressed enough for your container garden plants. Container Gardens are exposed to wind and sun so they dry out quicker than plants in the ground. There are no exact rules about watering your container garden plants. You have to become acquainted with the needs of various garden plants. The best tip is to examine them daily and water the plant when the surface of the soil begins to look dry. Feeling the soil will also help you determine the moisture needs of your container garden. How much and when to water will depend on the kind of plant and soil, the type and size of container, and the amount of exposure to sun and wind. During hot spells most plants in your container garden need daily water, except those in small clay pots, which may require it twice. Groups of plants in large containers keep moist longer than single specimens. This allows the container plants to shade one another to keep cool and stop moisture evaporation.

There are several methods of watering the plants. If you have many containers in your container garden, depend on the hose, allowing water to flow through slowly and gently. Water small pots with a watering can that has a long spout or buy one of the self watering containers now available. One thing is certain; you must not depend on rain to keep your container garden plants hydrated. Over-watering also prevents aeration of the soil, and will cause the plant to drown.

One good method is to set your container garden, if the containers are not too large, in a basin or pail of water for several hours, or until the surface of the soil feels moist (this is the theory behind self watering containers). The best general rule is to soak soil thoroughly when you water and then allow it to go just a bit dry before you water your container garden again. The best safeguard is to entrust your container garden to a responsible friend. As mentioned above, in many of the garden centers self watering containers are offered for sale. Happy Container Gardening!

Ideas On How To Use Container Gardening To Decorate Your House And Garden

Ideas On How To Use Container Gardening To Decorate Your House And Garden

Nearly every house and garden presents numerous attractive settings for container plants. Suburban gardens, estates, small city backyards, and summer cottages--all can be enhanced by this type of gardening. A simple arrangement consists of similar container plants at each side of the doorway. If the house is informal, painted tubs will make a cheerful note, while urns or ornamental pots are more appropriate if the architecture is formal. Sometimes, the front entranceway can qualify as an outdoor place for house plants, but be sure they are not exposed to strong sun and wind.