Great Tips For The Garden!

Wow I cant believe June is almost half way done. Its been a busy spring and summer here so far. Many lawns need mowing and care for, plus my garden grew in size again this year.

Garden Tips

• Are you needing something to tie your tomatoes to stakes? Believe it or not the best thing for this we have discovered is pantyhose. Cut into strips and use to tie the plant to the stake. Do not tie to tightly because the nylon will stretch as the plant grows preventing damage. 
• Like vining vegetables, but don't have the room? Train your melons, squash, and cucumbers onto a vertical trellis or fence. Saves space and looks pretty too.
• Onions are ready to harvest when the tops have fallen over. Let the soil dry out, harvest, and store in a warm, dry, dark place until the tops dry. Cut off the foliage down to an inch, then store in a cool, dry area.
• Insects can't stand plants such as garlic, onions, chives and chrysanthemums. Grow these plants around the garden to help repel insects.
• If you're short on space, garlic, leeks and shallots make excellent container plants. They tend to have few insect or disease problems and don't require much room for roots.
• Water your garden in the early morning to conserve moisture loss and to help avoid powdery mildew and other fungal diseases that are often spread by high humidity levels.
• Garden vegetables that become over-ripe are an easy target for some pests. Remove them as soon as possible to avoid detection.
• Over watering is worse than under watering. It is easier to revive a dry plant than try to dry out drowned roots.  

• To determine the amount of water at the root level:
• A day or two after watering, dig down 8 to 10  inches with a trowel or small shovel, near the drip line (outer canopy) of the plant. Doing this in two or three spots would be more helpful.
•  At that depth, grab a handful of the soil. Squeeze that handful. If it is muddy and watery, reduce your watering for plants that require regular (but not frequent) irrigation. If it is so dry you cannot form a clod in your hand (it turns to dust instead), increase your watering (for those plants that require moderate amounts of water).
•  If you can form a dirt clod in your hand, yet break it apart with a little effort that is probably the correct soil moisture for your plant.
•  An easier, but more unreliable way to measure the water content of the soil: purchase an inexpensive (under $10) moisture meter (pictured at top). Test its accuracy by putting its probe into a glass of water. If the probe does not read "wet", choose another. Expect it to function for only a year or so.
•  Battery operated moisture meters may set you back a few more dollars, but in my experience - with proper care (clean them after each use, don't leave them outdoors) - they will last many years.