Gardening Tips

The biggest users of water in your household are your washing machine, dishwasher, toilets and gardens. If you’ve got a lush green lawn in the middle of summer, you know how much water you use to keep it that way. Water is a precious resource, more and more so in our world where average temperatures seem to be on the increase on a yearly basis. Just because water restrictions are looming or in place, it’s no reason why you still can’t have a beautiful garden. You may have to change your gardening philosophy somewhat but it is possible.

Some tips to ensure you have a water wise garden :
1. Increase the water holding capacity of your soil
You can do this by adding organic matter. This can be in the form of compost or animal manure. If your soil is packed with clay then adding gypsum will help to break it down to make it easier for you to dig in the organic matter. For garden beds that are established you may find it hard to dig in the organic matter without damaging plant or tree roots, I’d suggest just adding it to the surface (an inch is a good measure) and let the worms do the digging in for you.

Another way you can increase the water holding capacity of the soil is to add water saving crystals - these swell up and store moisture and release it slowly into the soil without allowing it to drain away too quickly. Can work out quite costly though so I tend to prefer using organic matter.

2. Add mulch around your plants
Organic matter above can act as mulch. Problem with some types of organic matter is that it can harbor weed seeds and you may find weeds popping up if you just add it to the surface. Wood chips, straw, hay, shredded newspapers, sawdust, sugar cane mulch all work well and will break down. Pebbles or gravel can be used too but I find that it makes it hard to do ‘top ups’ with organic matter to feed my soil if these are laid down - plus children find it terribly enticing to pick up pebbles and throw them about the lawn and my lawn mower blades come up second best as a result. There are inorganic mulches around like weed mats but I find that these usually need to be secured or they can blow away in wild weather and aesthetically they aren’t all that pleasing.

3. Get rid of lawn
Lawn is one of the biggest water guzzlers (next to vegetable gardens) in the garden. Consider if you really need a big expanse. Children prefer to play on hard surfaces with their bikes. Consider using ground covers instead.

4. Reduce evaporation and water loss when you do water
Drip irrigation is highly effective and delivers water straight to where it’s most needed. Sprinklers waste up to 50% of the water delivered.

5. Plan your garden
Group plants together so that you have plants with high water needs eg vegetables, soft stem plants in one spot so that you only water plants which need it more often and others less. Not only will you be increasing the efficiency of the water used, it will also make your gardening chores easier if all your ‘needy’ plants are in one section of the garden. Choose plants that suit your climate and native to your area. Native plants have adapted to the weather conditions in your local region so they are less likely to wilt when times are hard. Not only will you find it easier to keep them alive, some will positively thrive with little maintenance on your part.

6. Collect rainwater
Put in a rainwater tank in your garden. It’s free, it’s unchlorinated - what more can you ask for?

7. Keep your plants healthy
If your plants are infested with pests and suffocated by weeds, they are already stressed so easing off the watering would only stress them more and more than likely send them to plant heaven. Most plants need more watering when they are first planted and tend to need less as they establish themselves.

8. When you do water, water deeply
Don’t just sprinkle the surface of the soil. That will only encourage the plant to send surface roots. It’s better to water less often and deeply when you do than to water scantily daily. Occasional deep watering will encourage the plant to send roots deeper into the soil.

Picking a garden rake isn’t hard - it really boils down to what you intend to use it for. Most gardeners I know own more than one garden rake. The tines (teeth) of garden rakes can be made of rubber, plastic or metal. Traditionally, most metal garden rakes are used on lawns for sweeping up garden leaves. I find that plastic garden rakes tend to break with annoying regularity so they aren’t really good for heavy use. Rubber garden rakes work well on concrete but metal rakes work best on grass.

The other consideration to think about is how wide you want the rake to be. The wider width garden rakes will be harder to use in amongst garden beds or you’ll be raking up more than just leaves! As with most things, buy the best that you can afford and garden maintenance will be less of a chore and more of a joy.

The magnolia grandiflora is a magnificent tree with broad strapping leathery leaves and can grow up to 80ft in height. Typically the trunk is straight and the tree forms branches which tend to result in a pyramid type crown. The leaves are of particular beauty with their deep green tops and velvet like undersides which are a lovely russet color. The flowers are large and a glorious crisp white with wafts of fragrance and covers the tree beginning spring and all through summer. There are lots of different cultivars - my favorite is ‘Little Gem’ if only because it’s a dense small tree (up to 20ft) and fits well into a smaller backyard.

To grow the magnolia grandiflora, you need to plant the tree in full sun (or partial shade but not full shade). Whilst the tree is pretty drought tolerant, like most trees (and plants), it will grow best in rich fertile and well drained soils. It tends to prefer rather acidic soils so if camelias and azaleas thrive in your garden then this tree is certainly going to do well too. Ideally it copes best in USDA Zones 7-9 although horticulturists are attempting to extend their range with new cultivars which are more tolerant of frost. To propagate, you can grow the magnolia grandiflora from seed (bright red and kidney shaped - can’t miss it) which appear after cone like fruit forms on the tree after flowering. Be forewarned though, it’s a large tree and unless you opt for the smaller ‘Little Gem’ it’s going to need space to grow. Another thing to note is that the leathery leaves take a long time (and I mean a long time) to rot down so if you’re a neat gardener, you may opt to rake up the fallen leaves under the tree canopy and put them in the compost instead.

Organic pesticides are just that - organic and natural. However, don’t be fooled into thinking that because they are organic that they are any less ‘potent’ or poisonous than your artificially brewed concoctions off the supermarket shelves. Some of these so called ‘organic’ pesticides are pretty deadly to pests and humans alike so take all the necessary precautions ie gloves, masks when you do spray or use them just to be on the safe side and if you are using these pesticides on your edible vegetables or fruit, wash them carefully before you eat them!

Organic pesticide 1 - good old garlic spray

The garlic spray is a good all round insect repellent and it works well against aphids. Some gardeners plant garlic bulbs under their roses to act as deterrents. I must say that planting them under the roses haven’t worked as well for me as the full on spray. You make it by finely chopping up about 100g of garlic cloves and adding this to about 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil. Leave the mixture to stand overnight then dissolve about 30g of soap flakes in 500ml of water and stir in the garlic mix. The soap in the mixture helps make the garlic mixture stick onto the leaves and petals of the plants. Strain the mixture to take out the lumpy bits of garlic then take out about 10-20ml and dilute it with 1 litre of water - this you then add to your spray gun and away you go!

Organic pesticide 2 - bicarbonate spray

Works well for powdery mildew although I’ve recently learnt that the milk spray works just as well if not better. To make the bicarbonate spray, add about 20g of bicarbonate of soda to a bucket full of water with enoughsoap flakes dissolved in it to make a rich lather. Use the spray on BOTH sides of leaves - some gardeners only spray the tops and wonder why it doesn’t work!

Organic pesticide 3 - milk spray

Wonderful new addition to the array of organic sprays - milk works wonders against powdery mildew! Use a mixture of 1 part milk to 9 parts water - reports of a 90% reduction in severity of powdery mildew has been reported! More is not better apparently. If you increase the concentration of milk to 30% it will in fact result in some other fungal growth so keep to the 1 part milk to 9 parts water mixture for the best results.

I know lots of gardeners love the idea of jiffy peat pots which reduce the effects of transplant shock and whilst these peat pots aren’t all that expensive to buy, I’ve thought up a cheaper alternative that’s worked well for me and want to share it with you. I’ve read of how people use egg cartons as alternatives but I find that they are a tad too shallow for my liking and after lots of experimenting, have come up with a feasible (and cheap - pretty much free) alternative which has worked well for me.

Starting materials : a cardboard roll - this one’s from the center of paper towels and 1 sheet of newspaper (Not the huge papers but the smaller sections ie 16″X11.5″)

Starting with the cardboard roll on 1 end and just under 1/2 way the width of the newspaper. Roll up the newspaper over the carboard roll till you reach the end

This is what you should end up with - I’ve started to push the free end into the tube of the cardboard roll

Keep pushing the rest of the newspaper into the hole and make sure none of it is sticking out - this is what you should end up with. Now pull the newspaper pot out from the cardboard roll and voila - home-made ‘jiffy’ pot!

This is the newspaper alternative to the jiffy peat pot all planted up - here with a camellia cutting I’ve just done with starter mix in the ‘pot’.

They are remarkably sturdy and what’s more, use a marker pen and pen the name of the seed/cutting/date and you have easy labelling! Initially I thought they would collapse after weeks of watering and damp required to kickstart the cutting but they didn’t, and when time came to plant out, I would just dig a hole and plonk the lot into the soil. Sometimes if I feel that the newspaper hasn’t disintegrated enough to allow the roots out into the soil, I plant it into the soil then use a pair of scissors to snip through the pot to ensure the roots are freed. This way of planting ensures that the new babies experience less transplant shock and you don’t have to touch the tender root system when planting out.