Tania Bale asked:


For some, the home vegetable garden is a hobby and for others a great money-saving helper, especially in these days of high prices.

Formerly it was the custom for gardeners to invest their labors and achievements

with a mystery and secrecy which might well have discouraged any amateur from trespassing upon such difficult ground.

Do not feel discouraged that you cannot be promised immediate success at the start. I know from personal experience and from the experience of others that "book-gardening" is a practical thing. If you do your work carefully and thoroughly, you may be confident that a very great measure of success will reward the efforts of your first garden season.

Why should we home garden, well the home gardener can grow his own vegetables and fruits at less expense than he can buy them, that is a good fact to remember and they taste 100 per cent better.

Every garden operation was made to seem a wonderful and difficult undertaking. Now all that has changed. In fact the pendulum has swung, as it usually does, to the other extreme. Often, if you are a beginner, you have been flatteringly told in print that you could from the beginning do just as well as the experienced gardener. This garden business is a matter of common sense; and the man, or the woman, who has learned by experience how to do something, whether it is cornering the market or growing cabbages, naturally does it better than the one who has not. Do not expect the impossible.

Knowledge on the subject of gardening is also more widely diffused than ever before, and the science of photography has helped wonderfully in telling the newcomer how to do things.

And this brings us to what may be the most important reason why you should garden. It is the cheapest, healthiest, keenest pleasure there is.

Better food, better health, better living--all these the home garden offers you in abundance. And the price is only the price of every worth-while thing--honest, cheerful patient work.

But enough for now about the dream garden. Put on your old clothes, and go outdoors and look the place over, and pick out the best spot for that garden-patch of yours.

“Learn All the Trade Secrets of Successful Home Vegetable Gardening”

No patch of land is too tiny to create a superb home vegetable garden.



Zachary

Allison Thomas asked:


The right planter in the right setting brings style, function and beauty to any indoor room or outdoor location. Planters can be used as a unique focal point or a graceful accent in any garden, patio, porch or room.

The secret is finding the perfect planter - one that reflects the owner's personality and surroundings while maintaining lasting durability.

Planters come in a large variety of shapes, sizes, designs, materials and price points, which makes some planters a better choice than others. In today's market, the unlimited assortment can also create unlimited indecision.

Knowing a few useful tips can simplify the decision-making process and help consumers purchase planters that will bring years of pleasure.

Here are some helpful considerations before purchasing a planter:

• Location (shade, sun, extreme weather)

• Maneuverability

• Size, Shape, Style, Color, Finish, Texture

• Drainage Hole and/or Self-Watering Options

• Durability & Longevity

• Artistic/Decorative Impact

• Reflect Personality of Owner/Home/Surroundings

• Materials (Learn the advantages and disadvantages of planter materials such as clay, terracotta, concrete, metal, wood, resin, fiberglass, etc.)

• Storage Concerns

A great way to get started is to purchase a matching set of various sized planters ranging from three, five or seven in total. Five containers used in a corner of a patio will help define your entertainment space. This grouped planter display can provide privacy and help tie in your overall outdoor living area. Don't be afraid of using bright and vivid containers such as oranges, iridescent blues and reds. These colors can help liven up outdoor spaces.

Combining plants is a fun part of container gardening. Try mixing and matching different plants such as annuals, tropicals, perennials, trees, shrubs, vines and vegetables. Before planting, arrange the new plants in or around your container while they are still in their small pots to see how they fit best. A good rule of thumb is to plant the tallest upright foliage plant in the center.

Next, plant the shorter and more compact flowering plant to the side of the center, near the edge of the planter. Leave enough space between these plants to allow for growth.

Finally, place plants with trailing or semi-trailing growth habits around the planters' outer edges leaving enough space for adequate spreading and trailing.

A word of caution: Also remove new plants from their nursery pots with care. Never remove them by pulling on their tender stems. Gently loosen or untangle the bottom inch of each plant's roots before carefully spreading them out in your planter. This helps give young plants a better start.

Additional potting mix can be added to ensure the soil covers the roots of each plant. When your planting is finished, the soil should be at least an inch below the rim of the container.Gardening with planters is a great way for beginning and experienced gardeners to dig into the botanical world. And best of all, you can take your planter garden with you when you move.



Trista

Marcie Snyder asked:


Many people think that the first criteria when picking the "best spot" for a home vegetable garden is good soil; however, although good soil is important, good soil is made, not found. You can rebuild the soil once the spot has been chosen. When you are choosing where you want your home vegetable garden patch to be, you must focus on its convenience and exposure.

Convenience means your home vegetable garden should be "close by" or as close to your house as possible. You may think that a difference of only a few hundred yards cannot be that significant; however, if you have to largely depend upon spare moments for working in and for watching the home vegetable garden, convenience will be much more important than you think.

Don't wait till you have had to make a dozen time-wasting trips for forgotten seeds or tools or gotten your feet soaking wet by going out through the dew-drenched grass to gather those "vegetables of the day" to realize that "close access to your home vegetable garden" is important.

Another point to remember is that the "home vegetable garden patch" does not have to be set in an ugly spot in your backyard or hidden behind the barn or garage. If you carefully plan, plant, and care for your home vegetable garden, this little patch can end up not only producing very nourishing vegetables for you, but it can also end up being a most beautiful and harmonious part of your landscape. Thus having this home vegetable garden in close proximity to your house can lend a touch of comfortable homeliness that no shrubs, border, or flower beds can ever produce.

The next most important criteria when picking out your home vegetable garden spot which is to give you hours of joy and yield delicious vegetables all summer, or even for many years, is the exposure.

Pick out the "closest" spot or plot you can find where your home vegetable garden will slope a little to the south or east, will catch the sunshine early and hold it late, and will be, as much as possible, out of the direct path of the chilling north and northeast winds.

It's important to get seedlings growing as soon as possible and to keep them growing; therefore, if a building, or even an old fence, protects your home vegetable garden from the chilling north or northeast winds, your vegetables will be helped along wonderfully.

If this home vegetable garden patch is not already protected, a board fence or a hedge of some low-growing shrubs or young evergreens would be most helpful. The importance of having such a protection or shelter is greatly underestimated by the amateur.

To summarize, when you are choosing that "best spot" for your home vegetable garden, make sure you consider these basics: Find a spot which is convenient and close to your house and make sure your home vegetable garden is positioned so that it gets lots of sun and is somewhat protected from the elements.



Tanner

mohd asked:


Home and Garden Supply : An in-depth guide to home and garden improvement with advice on organizing, remodeling, landscaping and home decor. Maximize garage space, pick up new gardening tips or perform simple maintenance on household appliances. Searching for information on home and garden supply,lawn care or plants, flowers and herbs? Want the latest on interior and home garden design? Look no further. Furniture questions? You can get here the answers for those, too. Whether you’re fixing a sagging gutter, installing a smoke detector or growing rose bushes, we can help you hammer out the solutions to a wide variety of home and garden supply and also household problems.

In choosing home and garden supply and decor, first you have to know what you want and what style you are looking for. One way of determining which decor to buy is by setting a theme to your home garden. Thin about what you would like your home garden to look like – what accessories you would like to see, and what plants and trees you’d like to add. Here are some of the theme ideas that you can incorporate with your home and garden decor: butterfly, temple, sundial, Japanese, water, winter, and jungle.

After you choose your theme, you can now make a list of products that are wonderful items to compliment your home garden. Some of these items can be flowers and flowerpots, planter pots, birdhouses, fountains, wind chimes, garden shelves, incense, garden angels, plant stands, flower vases, and statues.

Decorating your home and garden can be very challenging and you have to use your aesthetic ability to come up with a truly pleasing home garden. But before you make any purchase, see to it that your home and garden decor items will be good together so that you will not waste money, time, and effort.

Home Decor provides detailed information on Home Decor, Home and Garden Decor, Home Decor Ideas, Home Decor Stores and more. Home Decor is affiliated with Discount Home Furnishings.



Timothy

Arlene Connely asked:


Why Your Home and Garden Need Bird Control

by Arlene Connolly

Not everyone is aware that more than 60 human diseases are related to birds and their droppings, and some of them can even be fatal to humans. When birds cause damage to your home, they leave ugly stains, cause the structure to deteriorate, and may also lessen the value of your property. In addition, experienced home owners can tell you that the repairs, maintenance and clean-up from their invasions can be quite expensive, and humane bird control provided by Bird-B-Gone is a preventive measure you can take to keep expenses down.

Some reasons for using bird control around your home

Woodpeckers can severely damage wood homes, siding and shingles, and Canada geese can ruin your lawn. (They can also make quite a mess of your property if they are not controlled.) Blackbirds and starlings can eat the fruit and vegetables you cultivate so carefully in order to economize and feed your family well, and the great blue heron will go after the fish in your pond, if you have one.

Pigeons are generally considered to be "the number one bird pest" in America, their numbers are increasing, and their nesting instincts are strong. They usually mate for life, live in communal flocks that travel together, and tend to seek locations where adequate food and shelter can be found. To deter them, try installing a post-and-wire system that also makes a potential landing unstable for seagulls and larger birds.

Taking control of the situation

As you plan your strategy, remember that pest birds can be very determined in finding what they want and need. Since they seek out roosts and nesting places where they will feel comfortable and content, you want to make your home and garden unappealing and unwelcoming to them without causing them any harm. . You should also know that Bird-B-Gone, Inc. sets the standard for modern bird control, their products are humane and easy to install, and they require no maintenance. If pest birds have been returning to your home and garden for many years or the problem you face is especially severe, you will probably want to use a combination of their fine products to solve it and keep the pest birds away.

You can choose from many options for complete bird control

Sound deterrents are often used to ward off starlings, blackbirds, pigeons, woodpeckers and other pest birds. Eventually, they will become used to hearing one repetitious sound, and you will want to select a device that features the sounds of predators and birds in distress with variations. Bird Chase Supersonic uses state-of-the art technology to provide easy volume adjustment, and it is also an inexpensive way to protect your home and garden. The system's rigid construction makes it resistant to sun and weather, and you can adapt this device to suit your particular needs. It provides the distress calls of 22 types of birds and comes with an internal speaker, you can also connect four external speakers to the system to increase your coverage area up to 6-acres.  The Bird Chase Supersonic can be used in your garden to keep pest birds from destroying your precious plants.

Visual Bird Control devices can help do the job

Visual devices are used to repel many types of pest birds, and they must involve movement in order to be effective. For example, The Bird-B-Gone Balloon is an "inflatable scare device" that confuses and deters birds with its lifelike predator markings and eyes they will automatically tend to avoid as they move on to a more favorable location.

The Bird-B-Gone Diverter has an iridescent foil eye to protect your home from birds during the day and a glow-in-the-dark back to keep them away when the sun goes down. You can also use flash tape, made from iridescent red foil, to create what bird control experts call "an optical distraction zone" to do the job.  Use the diverter on the sides of your home to scare pest woodpeckers away.  They are also ideal to use in trees to keep the pest birds out.

Some devices make it difficult for pest birds to land

Roost inhibitors, which are quite effective in keeping birds away from roofs, beams, ledges and other surfaces, are probably the best-known methods of bird control, and they include spikes and netting. Bird spikes are available from Bird-B- Gone in two varieties and various colors and sizes to suit every need and situation. Made from unbreakable polycarbonate, the plastic bird spikes are extra strong and rigid; also available are marine-grade stainless steel bird spikes. The polyethylene knotted netting in Bird-B-Gone's product line is a favorite with architects because of its durability in all kinds of weather conditions. It keeps out all species of birds; ideal for use protecting fruit trees and eaves of homes.

The solar bird repeller sweeps birds away with its 5-foot radius rotating "arms". Birds see the rotating "arms" and go elsewhere to land. It comes with two 2.5-foot telescopic rods, a solar panel that powers the motor, and three AA rechargeable batteries for extended operation during dark periods.  The solar bird repeller is great for patios, on patio furniture and boats.

For more information, visit www.birdbgone.com.



Sterling