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Archive for the ‘Gardening’ Category

I love asparagus. You can steam it, grill it, fry it, whatever. The most important, outside all my favorite recipes, I was lucky enough to live in a climate suitable for growing it. It’s not difficult to grow vegetables, but unfortunately for the asparagus they have natural predators called asparagus beetle.

As their name would imply, they attacked the asparagus. Once the asparagus spear from pop through the soil, these beetles will begin to eat them. If that was not bad enough, they will lay their eggs on the spears from which the larvae will emerge and grow into adult beetles that will cause more damage to the plants.
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Eating plants is one of the smallest farmers indoor plant problems. So much has been learned about fertilizers, and there are so many good products and cheap in the market, this election is mostly a problem of personal preference and comfort.

There are different types of soluble fertilizer with balanced nutrients, both organic and chemical. Mix easily with water, and apply when watering the plants. Or you can water with manure “tea,” made by soaking a good bag rot or dehydrated manure in water, and pollute the solution until the color of weak tea. Elements soluble fertilizer quickly available for use by plants.
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This is becoming more and more obvious these days that we need to recycle as much as we can, and anyone who has a garden has a head start and can make a big contribution. For many novice gardeners, including myself, this can be a bit difficult to understand, but actually it was very easy – just a few very simple rules:

You need a compost bin, and the type you decide rather depends on the size your garden, but there are some options:

A purpose built plastic bin purchased from a garden center, not too expensive, and you just fill up and a few months later, you can take the compost from the small hole at the bottom.
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If you are a 21st century typical consumer, you live your life on a budget. Minding your money is a very important issue to you in everyday life. As a result, when you are in the market for various types of products and merchandise, you are trying hard to make sure that you are getting the best deal that ultimately purchases made. The same possibility applies when you make a purchase for your home garden. If you are looking to find a supply of flowering plants for your garden space, there are a few suggestions you should keep in mind in that regard.
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Beautiful herb that has been around forever and serves many purposes different. Cure for cooking and even believed by many to have magical powers. In recent years Herb gardening has increased in popularity. Are you considered starting a garden? If so, let me share with you some tips and things to consider when you begin.
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It’s easy to spend a fortune every year creating a beautiful yard. These five tips can help save you money in both this, and future gardening seasons.

1. Plan your vegetable garden according to what your neighbors are planting so you can share your vegetables when they’re ready for eating. Often I’ve had too many of one kind of vegetable I couldn’t give away because my friend’s were ripe at the same time.

2. Select perennials rather than annuals for your flowerbeds. As they multiply each year, cut them back and exchange with your friends so you both have lovely gardens and save money at the same time.

3. Compost your kitchen scraps, as well as your coffee grounds. The end result is much better than any potting soil you can ever get buy from a nursery or hardware store. The price is right, and this is definitely recycling!

4. Instead of using mulch, try pebbles or small rocks in your garden as ground cover. This will save you lots of cash since you won’t need to buy mulch in the spring and fall of every year.

5. Spend more money now by purchasing better quality gardening tools and you will save in the long run. They will last for years, saving you dollars because you don’t need to replace them every planting season. Same goes for gardening gloves- make sure you buy the best you can afford so they last all season.

Happy Gardening!

Bonsai, as a Japanese art form, is more regulated than it’s Chinese counterpart, the penjing. Bonsai attempts to achieve the ideal tree, while penjing attempts to reproduce nature. This is why perfect styling exists in bonsai if you obey the ‘rules’, while penjing leave you free to your creation. As a result these are the basic styles :

Broom (Hokidachi or Hoki-zukuri)

A very harmonious style, this form has branches that develop at a certain height, forming an upside broom. This styling is mainly achieved through a technique called the “V” cut. The trunk is chopped where you want the branch to start to develop and then a deep V cut is performed on the remaining trunk. This will induce buds to break near the cut. Zelkova serrata are notorious for this styling but maple and other deciduous species can easily be styled that way.

Formal Upright (Chokkan)

A tree styled the “chokkan” way has a straight trunk tapering graciously from bottom to top. The first and biggest branch is often situated at 1/3 of the desired height of the tree and is on the right or the left. The following branch is situated on the opposite side, while the third is in the back creating the perception depth. As we look at the branch structure from bottom to top, the branches are getting thinner, creating a pyramidal shape.

Informal Upright (Moyogi)

This style is very similar to the previously mentionned style as the same rules of design apply, however, the trunk is not straight but rather forms a sinuous shape while remaining tapered. This style is commonly used with conifers.

Slanting (Shakan)

Once again, this style is the same as the formal upright except that the trunk is leaning on one side. Branches are grown uniformly on the trunk like the formal/informal upright styles but the apex is tilted to the opposite side of the trunk giving a visual balanced effect.

Cascade (Kengai)

This styling requires an inclined trunk that is preferably at a 45 degree angle. The major portion of the foliage is below the pot line and sometimes goes beyond the pot itself. It often represents a tree growing on the side of cliff. A deep pot is used for this style.

Semi-cascade (Han-Kengai)

Similar to the Kengai style, this style also has an inclinated trunk. However, the foliage remains at the height of the pot line. In nature, we can see this style near a waterway, the foliage having grown on the side and leaning towards the water. While the cascade style uses a deeper pot, this style uses a medium depth pot.

Windswept (Fukinagashi)

A “windswept” tree represents a tree that has been growing in a certain shape due to natural elements . Often caused by strong wind, the trunk is always inclinated in a certain direction and all branches have grown on the same side.

Literati (Bunjin)

This styling is often represented in Japanese paintings. It is a tree with a tall and sinuous trunk. The foliage only grows near the summit of the tree. This styling is somewhat an exception to the rigorous rules of bonsai because it does not have specific rules. It represents what the bunjin movement is in Japan: the search for liberty.

Group/Forest (Yose-ue)

This styling often represents a forest or a small cluster of trees. It is supposed to be styled in a way that will clearly represent the growing habits of trees in a group. Many techinques can be used to achieve this styling and many perception techniques are used to create the illusion of a forest, or as Naka would say, “having the quality of the invisible beauty of nature”. To respect the Japanese art form, an odd number of trees is prefered for this styling.

Raft (Ikadabuki)

The same rules of the group planting apply to this style. However, all of the trunks emerge from one common trunk. This technique is often achieved with a branch placed verticaly in the soil. The roots form this branch and the upper part of the vertical branch develop secondary branches that will eventually become the trunks.

Multi-trunk Style (Sokan – Sankan)

This multi-trunk style has different possibilities. The first, which is called “Sokan”, consists of two trunks emerging from the same visible roots (nebari). The styling of the upper part of the tree must respect the same rules as the formal / informal upright styles previously described. Another variance consists of the same but with three trunks emerging from the visible roots. This is called “Sankan”. You can also have more than three trunks but to respect Japanese bonsai, it is prefered to have an odd number of trunks.

Roots Over Rock (Ishitsuki)

This styling has the specific charactreristics of having many visible roots growing over a rock and finding their way to the pot/soil.