With the old familiar variety of garden hoses as well as black Poly irrigation systems, there are two major problems that occur along the length of the hose or pipe, one is cracking and/or splitting of the hose/pipe and the second problem is the familiar kinking of the hose/pipe. So what can you do about it besides going out and buying a new hose or roll of poly’ pipe? Well there is at least one repair method that should help with either problem. Without the cost and problems of putting expensive joiners into your watering system.

Split Hoses/Pipes

What do you do once your garden hose or irrigation pipe has developed a crack or split after your son has mowed over it or you’ve managed to drive over it once too often?

With either type of system, you could cut out the section of the damaged hose or pipe and put in a joiner, but sometimes this is impractical or impossible. Then why not look at repairing it instead of replacing it. Use the same method as you would for a kinked hose. Which is listed below.

Kinking Hoses/Pipes

Once a garden hose or irrigation pipe has jack-knifed back on itself at a particular spot, it will continue to do so for the life of the hose/pipe. This is because it has become weakened at that point. Again you have the option to cut out the weakened area and join the remaining parts of the hose. Or you will have to look at repairing the weakened area to stop it kinking in future, you can do this by bracing the weakened area/s by the following method . . .

What you will need to repair split/kinked hoses or irrigation pipes

An excess section of garden hose or irrigation pipe A Sharp knife or blade Container of hot water Measure and cut off a small section of hose/pipe, approximately three inches long, or as long as is needed to cover over the weakened or broken area. Cut this section down its length on one side only.

Soften the hose or pipe section in hot water. Open it up and wrap this like a bandage around the weakened section of hose/pipe.

This acts like a splint over the weak area, strengthening it so that at that point it will not kink or fountain out water anymore.

If you are repairing a split area of the hose you may have to look at sealing the hose with something like a silicon sealant. But you will find that simply putting the hose splint will greatly reduce and/or stop the leak.

The hose or pipe splint will not move off of the weakened or split area because it rehardens fairly quickly as it cools, this tightens its grip over the weak part of your hose/pipe.

Repeat this procedure for other areas that are split or are prone to kink of the garden hose or irrigation pipe that you are using.

So if that garden hose or irrigation system of yours is split in one or more places or is kinking all the time, and it is frustrating you no end, then do something other than throwing it out. Either repair it or at least keep the old hose or pipe to repair your future watering systems.



By: Bare Bones Gardener

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Any hydroponics system is based on the same primary principle: you replace the soil with something else to support plant roots, in an effort to give a chance in areas of the world where nothing grows because of poor soil quality, such as sand and ice deserts, high mountain platforms and many more. If we look at the word’s meaning : “hydroponics system”, ‘hydro’ means water and ‘ponos’ refers to labor, so a hydroponics system is defined as the “working water”.

How hydroponics systems evolved and who used them

A hydroponics system was attested to have been created and used for the first time by the Babylonians, and we also know that the Aztecs possessed similar knowledge about building it too. When referring to a hydroponics system as we know it today, we must take into consideration that the actual concept appeared at the beginning of the 19th century.

Over the last several hundred years, horticulturists and many scientists have tried to develop various hydroponics system models attempting to grow crops in regions of the globe where the soil makes traditional agriculture impracticable. A version of a hydroponics system was included in the NASA spacial program bringing fresh vegetables in space and helping astronauts clean the air.

Before the late 1970s very few people were interested in hydroponics system models and those pioneers were scientists or horticulturists. In the years that followed more and more people were attracted by this idea, and many hydroponics system models were bought to be used as a hobby.

Agriculture using hydroponics system models needs very few or no pesticides at all, since almost all the problems plants have are generated by soil, so practically you will have ecological crops at a decent price. If you are a professional horticulturist buying a hydroponics system isn’t an expensive and risky investment, because the need for ecological food has increased all over the world. Thus it is sure fact that there will be buyers for your crops. But not only horticulturists benefit from the advantages of hydroponics system models, teachers also find them very useful especially when teaching children about plants and crops.

What is the potential of hydroponics system models?

As I said before hydroponics system models bring something new, they are an innovation based primarily on technology and electrical power supply. I also have some doubts about those who say that hydroponics system models can bring food in poor countries, in such cases a hydroponic system needs an electric infrastructure first in order to serve community interests.

The potential of this new agricultural opportunity attracted many investors especially after the 80s, when all the hydroponics system components were made out of plastic, which is cheap and easy to replace when needed. Maybe this is the agriculture of the future.



By: Ann Marier

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Have you ever wondered if what you know about Dahlias is accurate? Consider the following paragraphs and compare what you know to the latest info on Dahlias.

Dahlias are among the most beautiful and most exotic residents of any garden. The large blooms of the dahlia are impossible to ignore, and they stand out in any garden in which they are planted. The sturdy, large blooms of the dahlia are available in a variety of colors, and in sizes ranging from as small as an inch to as large as a foot. In addition, the flowers themselves come in a variety of shapes. Some dahlia blooms are shaped like baseballs, while others curve back on themselves to where they nearly touch their stems.

Dahlias are known as sun loving plants, and they definitely do better with sufficient sunlight. Gardeners recommend providing dahlias with at least a half day of sunlight every day. In addition, dahlias need enough water to thrive, and most varieties require from one to two inches of rain, from either rainfall or artificial watering, every week.

In addition, dahlias need a good rich soil with plenty of organic material, a regular pruning schedule, a good insecticide to protect them from beetles and grasshoppers and possibly staking as the plants grow ever taller. In addition, dahlias should be fed with a quality low nitrogen fertilizer as needed.

Sometimes the most important aspects of a subject are not immediately obvious. Keep reading to get the complete picture.

Dahlias are actually grown from a tuber, a bulb like structure, and dahlias are actually classified as bulb plants. It is best to plant dahlias near the beginning of June, and those dahlias will usually bloom around October. Dahlias can be planted earlier in the season as well, and those dahlias will provide late summer blossoms. Dahlias should be dug up after the first frost of the year. After being dug up, the dahlias should be divided and stored for the winter. Doing so will allow the gardener to replant the dahlia tuber the following year.

Dahlias come in a great many varieties, but one of the most popular varieties is the David George. The David George variety of dahlia features a bloom of deep red color and medium size. Other popular dahlia varieties include the Bonaventure, featuring large bronze colored flowers, and the Allie Yellow, with features a tiny yellow bloom.

In addition to staples like orchids and roses, dahlias are often seen at flower shows, and many gardeners grow dahlias purely for these competitions. A prize dahlia can certainly be the star of any flower show, due to their striking beauty and large size.

Sometimes it’s tough to sort out all the details related to this subject, but I’m positive you’ll have no trouble making sense of the information presented above.



By: J. Brian Keith

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Your first line of defense when keeping cats out of your garden is to make sure that you have your boundaries secure. If there are any gaps in your fence, you should make sure that you block them to prevent any low access. Cats are very agile animals, and can jump very high. Normally they can jump a fence, which is why you should also invest in string or taut wire across the top.

If a cat has made his way into your garden, it may be hard to get him out. Most people choose to use dogs, simply because dogs are known to dislike cats. There are several dog breeds out there that completely dislike cats, such as pit bulls and Dobermans. Cats are completely fearful of these breeds, and will flee if they see them around.

All cats are known to despise water as well. If you spot a cat in your garden, water almost always gets him out. All it takes is a bucket of water or a well aimed squirt with a garden hose to make him run away. After you have hit the cat with water several times, he should get the hint not to come back anymore. If he comes back, simply squirt him or throw more water on him until he gets the idea.

Protecting your plants is a different story. Mothballs are said to be very effective, as cats don’t like the smell. You can use mothballs around your plants, garden borders, or even along the fence. There are other repellents that you can use as well, such as cayenne peppers, tobacco, lavender oil, citronella oil, mustard oil, and even lemon grass oil.

If you visit your local hardware or lawn store, you can find motion activated sprinklers. They work great in keeping cats out of your garden. Once you install the sprinkler system and a cat comes into the area, the detector will pick up the cat’s presence and immediately shoot out a jet of water that will douse the cat. In most cases, all it takes is a few times of exposure to the sprinkler before a cat learns to stay out of that area.

Sound devices that feature high frequencies are also a great way to scare off cats, although they aren’t annoying to humans. You can find several different models, such as those that stay on all the time, and those that are motion detected. To use this type of device, you’ll need to make sure that the model you have is strong enough to cover the entire area. If you model you are using is strong enough to cover your entire garden, it should suffice in scaring off any unwanted animals.

You can also use commercial repellents as well. Commercial repellents use scents to keep cats away, and shouldn’t be used near any food crops. Due to their high chemical content, commercial repellents can pollute your crops. You can find them at your local department store, with several varieties to choose from, many of which will fend off other animals from your garden as well.

If you have a garden, it can be very annoying if cats and other animals decide to make your garden their home. If you stick to your guns and do your part, you can prevent them from bothering your garden or your crops. Once you have secured your boundaries around the garden, you should try using water first. If water doesn’t seem to work, you can look into another method, such as commercial repellents.



By: Tristan Andrews

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While we all know that garlic has many health benefits such as being a natural antibiotic, you may not know that they can also be healthy for your garden as well. As a companion plant, when they are planted near roses and raspberries, garlic will improve the growth and health of your plants. It has the added benefit of deterring Japanese beetles and aphids. Garlic is easy to grow and each planted clove will produce a full head of Garlic with between 8 to 20 cloves per head. To get started in with planting your garlic, first purchase your garlic of choice. Since the garlic from grocery stores has antisprouting chemicals added to it, be sure and buy your garlic from a reputable source rather than a grocery store. One variety that you may enjoy that is popular here in the Mid-South is the mild flavored ‘Elephant’ garlic which has large clusters.

Planting Garlic

One half pound of garlic seed is a good start and will produce about 15 plants. Garlic is divided into hardnecks (Allium sativum var. ohioscorodon) and softnecks (Allium sativum var. sativum). First, check online catalogs or your local co-op for the variety that will suit your needs best.

Next, decide where you will plant your garlic. A raised bed is suggested if you do not have good soil or if you live in a wet climate. Good soil means loamy soil with a pH of 6.5 to 7.0. Composted manure for essential nutrients incorporated into soil a few weeks before planting is helpful. If you are planting your garlic directly into your soil, plant in wide-rows 10 to 12 inches wide. Timing is important when planting garlic. Bigger bulbs will be produced if you plant in the fall and let it grow and mature until the following summer. If you find that it’s springtime already and you haven’t planted yours yet, go ahead and plant if you like, just realize you will get smaller bulbs. Since garlic bulbs like cool weather, the earlier you can plant it the better it will grow and the bigger the bulbs will be.

Garlic is not susceptible to disease, but as with any plant, having good air circulation is the key to a healthy plant. If your garlic develops thrips, apply insecticidal soap. In cold climates, add more mulch a month after planting to prevent extreme temperature fluctuations. When growth appears in late winter, pull back the mulch and begin monthly applications of an organic fertilizer such as blood meal or fish emulsion. Stop fertilizing in mid to late spring (depending on what type of garlic you have). Mulch again as summer approaches.

Harvesting Garlic

It takes about 100 days for bulbs planted in the spring to mature. Harvest between late may in warm climates and mid-August in cooler areas. Stop watering two weeks before harvest. One tip that garlic is ready to harvest is when the leaves on the lower half of the plant turn brown. To harvest, dig the bulbs up rather than pulling them up, Being careful not to damage the outer skins.

Let them cure in a dry, shady, well ventilated location for three days. Don’t wash them yet. If you want to braid your garlic for a decorative touch, now is the time to braid the foliage of softnecks. Cure bulbs for 2 to 3 more weeks until foliage is completely dry. Once foliage is dry, clean the bulbs by wiping or peeling away the outer husk. Trim tops to 1 inch and roots to 1/2 inch.

Storing Garlic Bulbs

To store your garlic bulbs, place them in mesh bags or braided strings in a dark, cool place. Garlic will keep up to three months if stored at between 32 degrees Fahrenheit and room temperature. Humidity level of 65 to 70 percent is best.

Don not refrigerate.

Troubleshooting

Common causes of small or no bulbing include high temperatures, excessive watering, wrong cultivar for your climate, and weed competition. Your local extension service can advise you as to what varieties grow well in your area.

Both you and your garden can benefit from growing garlic. Checking online catalog sources, your local extension service, or with your local garden center will give you many varieties that are fun to try and that will grow well in your area.



By: Julia Stewart

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If you’re a certified gardening aficionado then a gardening forum is just the thing for you. Your family’s already probably tired of hearing minute details of the earth worm and its resourcefulness, not to mention hearing about the detailed structure of the foxglove and its place in the whole gardening circle of life. What a gardening forum will offer you will be the chance to talk to like minded people who don’t mind talking for hours on end about the vagaries of gardening, and who, in fact actively seek out kindred souls such as yourself, for the same reasons you did. But now you ask, how do I find a gardening forum, and how do I find one that’s right for me? It’s a perfectly valid question and you have nothing to feel ashamed about asking it. After all, you’re a gardener at heart, not a computer wizard. We’ll start with the basics, and move on from there. You could ask a friend, or a colleague, or even a family member, but the way I see it reading this article will be less time consuming, and potentially less hassle free as I won’t be ragging you on your computer non-know-how. We can’t all be computer savvy. Since right about now you’re probably feeling the urge to ’branch out’ on your own and find your very own set of gardening fanatics, all you need to do is type in the words “Gardening Forum” into your favorite search engine and press the search button. And, hey presto, you have access to your very first gardening forum. To participate in a forum of any kind you will generally be required to join and sign up as a member. Usually this shouldn’t entail anything more than providing a valid email address, a password, and a member name. A few personal details might also be asked to be supplied. There really should be no need to charge you for the membership, and if they are asking for a fee, I would suggest that you look around for a different gardening forum to join. Most are free, and won’t require you to shell out any cash. If you’re satisfied with the gardening forum that you’ve found, and you’ve filled in all the pertinent details, take a moment to read the Terms of Service Agreement, and Privacy Policy that will invariably be there. This is to protect both you, and the people holding the gardening forum. In this day and age you can’t be too careful. So, now that you’ve finally found the kindred souls you’ve been looking for most of your life, I say go ahead and make contact, after all, it’s not everyday that you get a chance to talk about gardening all day long. Or, at least it wasn’t everyday, but now that you’ve found that perfect gardening forum, who can tell? You might be found more on the computer now, than in your garden!

If you’re a certified gardening aficionado then a gardening forum is just the thing for you. Your family’s already probably tired of hearing minute details of the earth worm and its resourcefulness, not to mention hearing about the detailed structure of the foxglove and its place in the whole gardening circle of life.

What a gardening forum will offer you will be the chance to talk to like minded people who don’t mind talking for hours on end about the vagaries of gardening, and who, in fact actively seek out kindred souls such as yourself, for the same reasons you did.

But now you ask, how do I find a gardening forum, and how do I find one that’s right for me? It’s a perfectly valid question and you have nothing to feel ashamed about asking it. After all, you’re a gardener at heart, not a computer wizard.

We’ll start with the basics, and move on from there. You could ask a friend, or a colleague, or even a family member, but the way I see it reading this article will be less time consuming, and potentially less hassle free as I won’t be ragging you on your computer non-know-how. We can’t all be computer savvy.

Since right about now you’re probably feeling the urge to ’branch out’ on your own and find your very own set of gardening fanatics, all you need to do is type in the words “Gardening Forum” into your favorite search engine and press the search button. And, hey presto, you have access to your very first gardening forum.

To participate in a forum of any kind you will generally be required to join and sign up as a member. Usually this shouldn’t entail anything more than providing a valid email address, a password, and a member name. A few personal details might also be asked to be supplied. There really should be no need to charge you for the membership, and if they are asking for a fee, I would suggest that you look around for a different gardening forum to join. Most are free, and won’t require you to shell out any cash.

If you’re satisfied with the gardening forum that you’ve found, and you’ve filled in all the pertinent details, take a moment to read the Terms of Service Agreement, and Privacy Policy that will invariably be there. This is to protect both you, and the people holding the gardening forum. In this day and age you can’t be too careful.

So, now that you’ve finally found the kindred souls you’ve been looking for most of your life, I say go ahead and make contact, after all, it’s not everyday that you get a chance to talk about gardening all day long. Or, at least it wasn’t everyday, but now that you’ve found that perfect gardening forum, who can tell? You might be found more on the computer now, than in your garden!



By: Imran Khot

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Garden bird baths and garden bird feeders are excellent ways to attract wild birds to your garden. Place a bird bath in a quiet part of the garden well away from any bird feeders as birds like a quiet place to bathe and drink.

To keep your birdbath at the correct temperature for your bird visitors to drink or bathe the whole year round you could either buy a bird bath with a heater installed or attach a heater to an unheated birdbath. Birdbaths equipped with heaters either use a cord plugged into an electric outlet or have solar panels to collect the sun’s energy to power the heater. Solar power bird baths are easier to install, are cost free and need very little maintenance. They can collect enough of the sun’s energy to keep your bird bath ice free even on very cold days. In addition to heaters you can also purchase de-icers to keep the water accessible to the birds.

A heated bird bath will usually be longer lasting than an unheated one as constant freezing and melting of the water results in cracks and damage to the concrete, stone or marble materials unless you keep the bird bath empty throughout the colder weather. maintaining the water at a constant temperature will ensure that the bird bath is undamaged and will give your bird visitors warm water to bathe in and to drink all the year round.

To attract the birds and also to agitate the water to prevent mosquitoes laying their eggs you could consider adding a bird bath dripper. This can be as simple as a pipe that drips water into the bowl, making the pleasant sound of running water which will attract the birds. More elaborate drippers can be purchased that are shaped like dragonflies, climbing ivy, butterflies and more, usually made from copper to look more attractive. Birds will love to bathe in the dripper as it simulates the feeling of raindrops on their feathers. For smaller birds such as hummingbirds or warblers you could use a mister in your garden or on your bird bath. Misters do use up more water than drippers however.

In addition to attracting the birds a dripper will keep the water agitated and prevent mosquitoes from settling on the water surface to lay their eggs. There are also other ways to prevent mosquitoes from breeding including using a water wiggler or mosquito dunks. Water wigglers run on batteries and produce vibrations which cause ripples on the water surface. They are easy to use and, being battery operated do not need any elaborate installation. Just add the batteries and attach to the bird bath. They are quiet so they do not disturb the peace in the garden or frighten away the birds.

Mosquito dunks are a natural method to stop the mosquitoes breeding. They can be placed in bird baths and also ponds, barrels, gutters etc, in fact anywhere were standing water accumulates. Place one dunk for one hundred square feet of water surface once a month. As you only need a small amount for a bird bath break off a piece and save the unused pieces for later. Dunks are environmentally friendly and are a good alternative to chemical treatments. They work differently to the drippers and water wigglers as they do not prevent eggs being laid but kill the larva before they can mature.



By: Janet Ashby

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