Do You Have Any Gardening Tips?
Hi!
I just found a new hobby –> gardening.
Honestly, I have no tools except for shovels, and maybe a few pots.
Also, don’t forget dirty, rotten, weird, and old soil!
Please answer these:
1) what kind of plants should we plant in the middle of March?
2) what are some essential and useful gardening tools?
3) what kind of soil is the best?
4) how do you know when a fruit is ripe?
5) what time of day should you water plants?
6) i live in california. is the weather alright?
7) do they sell venus fly traps?
THANK YOU SO MUCH, AND IF YOU HAVE ANY OTHER TIPS, WE’D BE SO THANKFUL FOR YOU TO TELL US!
thank you!
great hobby!It’s my love and profession.I encourage all those interested to help make the world a more beautiful place and use gardening as a means of therapy.you need to start with the basics.1.come up with a plan.what do you want?a.a simple basic vegetable garden,with tomatoes,Cukes, beans,and radishes?it’s a great way to get to know the plant world.2. did you want flowers? start with basic annuals, marigolds, cosmos,impatience for the shade.3. have the soil already done for you .farfard has a wonderful complete mix that will help your basic plants( and others thrive.)4.make sure your planting area has at least 6 hours of sun.take a day and observe.5.tools for gardening should include shovel,hoe,hard rake,claw,spring rake,and pic axe to soften and loosen up the area to be first gardened.always ware in the morning with a deep ,thorough watering.and never after 4 as you can propagate mold and fungus by evenings cool temps.california goes up and down the coast, alot of different zoning,you are so going to be more specific on what you can plant.venus fly traps primarily for inside use.surprisingly,your more apt to find them at food sores and chain nurseries.need any more help?april is when i start going nuts with my business.e-mail me before then.happy to help aspiring gardeners
Visit your local nursery for plants that are workable for your are and that time period.
I love my gloves, hand shovel, big shovel…
Again at the nursery you will find good soil, amendities and compost. I personally love Jungle Growth and Lowes sells it.
Do you want plants, flowers, or vegtables etc…call your county extension office they hold free classes.
You should always water in the early morning hours or in the evening, some plants both.
Venus fly traps are not a good beginner plant and can not be planted outside.
Where are you in California? Yes, you can grow practically anything in California. From the library get the book Square Foot Gardening, written by a man from California, Mel Bartholomew.
Yes, you can buy venus fly traps. Check at a nursery.
I dont have much for tips, because its my wife that does most of the gardening, but I would recommend that if you are in need of some tools for the garden, deifnitely give a look at Ordertree.com
ALWAYS water your garden in the morning, if you do so at night the leaves will feel mushy
I think that you should start with some bedding plants, buy them at the local nursery, not at Kmart or the grocery store. Ask questions of the nursery staff, that is what they are there for.
At the very least buy a nice shovel, one that does not have too wide of a blade. A sturdy planting trowel, some gloves. My favorite soil is Ocean Forest by Fox Farm
Buy Sunset Western Garden Book, the best starter book for beginners and I always say that if you could only buy one gardening book, buy the Sunset.
I am not sure where you are in California, but I would recommend going to the San Francisco Garden show. It runs from the 18th till the 22nd of March, I believe, and it is a great place to get some ideas and go to some free seminars.http://gardenshow.com/sf/index/index.cfm
I live in the Uk so don’t have the benefit of the wonderful weather you have so i would think you could grow practically anything.
Essential tools that I use
garden spade
hoe to weed between your plants without having to break you back on your hands and knees digging them up
secatuers or pruning knife ,
rake to keep the lawn and flower beds clear of dead leaves and debris
wellington boots to stop you ruining you shoes
plant will grow it most soil but depending on what you have you may have to add some extra nutrients, eg manure in the uk we use good old horse poo smell a bit but is brilliant on roses, or chicken poo which you can buy in the form of pellets.
or you can make your own compost you can either make your own buy a compost bin or use an area in your garden that you can fence off
you can put in all you unwanted scraps from the kitchen raw food ony aand no meat or fish it will attract maggots, any left over raw veg, tea bbags, leaves from the garden , it does take about a year to break
down into compost but it totally organic. and great for the soil.
This time of year you can plant fruit trees and bushes, roses, bedding
plants eg primroses, pansies,
also bulbs which will come up every year, gladioli, tulips, lillies.
You can water 1st thing in the morning or late afternoon so long as there is not bright sun on the plants as it burn the leaves to water them in direct sun.
this website although a UK one is brilliant for information on all types of plants it gives tips on growing condition, types of soil and seasons for plantshttp://www.rhs.org.uk/
as the ripeness of fruit
it depends on the fruit really apples are usually around september if you twist the apple and it comes away easily it is ripe
for soft berries eg strawberries, rasperries you can tell by the colour.
Good luck with your garden a lot of it is trial and error you will soon know what grows best in your garden
since you live in california , i would think you could plant a lot of things in march. here in pennsylvania about the only thing that we can plant in march is onions. top soil is the best soil . you should water your garden in the evening when the sun is going down, that way your soil will hold the moisture. as far as gardening tools go you will pick up on that as you go.most fruit is hard when it is green . when it feels soft it is ripe. if you put black plastic over tour garden it will hold the moisture longer and prevent weeds from growing. just cue a hole in the plastic and put your plant in. there is a lot of tricks in gardening you will pick up on as you go. i used to get a magazine called organic gardening it was an excellent magazine. i had a garden for about 40 years , there is a lot i could tell you but i would be typing all night. good luck and i hope you enjoy gardening as much as i did.
Congratulations! You will find your new hobby fun, sometimes frustrating but never fail to amaze. And you will find a lot of good down to the earth people ready and willing to share their experience with you. I would recommend you look into your local master gardeners (through your county’s extension service) or garden groups.
1) What you can do in March depending on where you live. But for most part of the country, you can start your veggies starts, getting ready for the spring.
2) Good quality pruners, some hand tools
3) Sandy loom
4) Taste them
5) When they tell you they are thirsty
6) Northern or Southern? weather in CA is great for gardening
7) Venus Fly Trap like damp and boggy climate, I am not sure they are good candidate for outdoor gardening, but you can give it a try….
Good luck, happy gardening!