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In order to know what type of amendment will best help you create rich loam, you must first identify whether the texture of your soil is primarily clay, silt, or sand.

First, let’s deal with the characteristics of each type of soil.

Because clay soil is made up of very fine particles, its disadvantages are that it compacts easily, drains poorly or not at all, and tends to crust over. When clay soil is extremely dry, you will hardly be able to make a dent in it even with a shovel. The purer the clay soil, the more easily it compacts thus leaving very little space for air; obviously plant roots may not survive because of this lack of oxygen.

The advantages of having clay soil is that it is a very rich soil, and it drains slowly; thus, nutrients don’t get leached out.

Organic amendments such as ground bark, peat moss, or leaf mold improve dense clay soils by physically separating the fine clay particles without holding moisture. A good ratio is roughly 50/50.

Sandy soil is the opposite of clay soil in that it generally drains quickly because its particles are quite a bit bigger thus leaving more air pockets between particles. As a result, sandy soil tends to lose nutrients quickly.

To improve the texture of sandy soil, add a spongy organic amendment such as peat moss. Spongy particles fill the open spaces between the sand particles, so moisture and nutrients are not leached out as easily or quickly. A good ratio is 2/3 amendment and 1/3 soil.

Silt soil is made up of particles which are bigger than those in clay soil but smaller than those in sand. Since high-silt soil tends to compact, preventing deep root penetration, it too benefits by having spongy organic amendments such as peat moss added to it. Again, a good ratio is 2/3 amendment to 1/3 soil.

A higher ratio of organic material to sand/silt is good as the organic matter tends to break down faster due to faster drainage (more oxygen). Since organic material helps to hold onto water and nutrients, it’s almost impossible to add too much. Generally speaking, all soils, even clay soils, benefit greatly by adding composted organic matter to it.

Testing for Texture

1. The most basic soil texture test is to pick up a handful of moist soil, roll it into a ball, and squeeze the ball lightly. If the soil feels slippery and your fingers leave an impression in the surface, you are dealing with clay soil. If the soil feels gritty and forms a loose ball when you squeeze it, there’s a significant sand content. If the soil feels greasy, then you’re dealing with a high proportion of silt. Finally, if the soil crumbles into large particles or is difficult to roll into a ball, it has a well-balanced texture characteristic of loam. In that case you’ve hit pay dirt, for loamy soils are excellent for gardening.

2. Another test to help you determine the texture of your soil is to visually compare the proportions of sand, silt, and clay. To do this, you first half fill an ordinary quart jar with your soil and then add water to the top of the jar. Securely close the jar with a cover and shake until the water and the soil have become thoroughly mixed. Then set it on a flat surface for 24 hours.

After 24 hours, check the layers: the sand proportion will be at the bottom, the silt will hover in the middle, and the clay will be towards the top. By seeing what you have the most of, you can get a rough idea of whether your soil texture is clay, silt, or sandy soil.A gardener for years, Marcie has learned the value of soil amendment to put nutrients back into the soil. To do this, one needs to understand soil texture. Find more information/ideas on how to deal with soil textures!

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Raised bed gardens are a great way to start gardening without a lot of the pain. You can either make a raised bed garden from scrap materials, or build one from kit. Here’s a look at some of the options.

Some of the biggest problems with gardening are finding a good spot with good soil to get started, and the ongoing need to spend a lot of time in the garden bending and stooping to prepare the soil, and weed the garden. In addition to this, you may have issues with your soil like poor drainage or soil borne diseases. One way to get around most of these problems is to use a raised garden bed.

One other advantage to using raised gardens is that the crop yield will tend to be higher because you will be using intensive gardening techniques like wide row planting or square foot gardening. This cuts back on the amount of watering and fertilization needed for gardening as well. You can get higher yields because you don’t need space for the rows to walk in between plants, and the closer spacing of the plants helps suppress weeds. In addition, since you aren’t walking on the soil, your avoid soil compaction, so over the years you enhance the root development of your crops.

You can build raised bed garden yourself from scrap lumber, although you may find that your scrap lumber doesn’t hold up as well as more expensive wood like cedar. If you choose to build your own, one common way to simplify the job is to use raised bed corners. Making sturdy corners is the hardest part of the job of building a bed, and these cut out a large part of the job. They also make it easy to stack boards to increase the height of the bed. With these you can easily tailor the bed to your specific needs, even building a bed that has some shape other than rectangular. Hex shaped beds are a popular option, useful for building around a featured item in the landscape like a tree or a flagpole.

If you want to buy a raised bed garden kit, you’ll find that cedar bed gardens are some of the most popular. Cedar is a long lasting wood, it resists insects well, and is quite attractive. These beds are also found as raised planters, and beds raised to almost waist height can really eliminate the pain associated with working in the garden. Add a small platform underneath, and you don’t even need to walk to the shed to get your tools.

For something a little less expensive, take a look at the vinyl or plastic bed kits. Some are made from recycled plastic, and come in a number of colors so they can blend with any yard. The brown is often fashioned to look like a real timber bed, but come in sections that can be extended.

For an interesting change of pace, some plastic raised beds are built to look they are built from rock. Coming in straight or curved sections, they are made of a lightweight composite, but appear as natural rock. Much cheaper and easier than rock, but definitely a change of pace from traditional raised gardens. These typically come in gray finish.For more on all sorts of information on raised bed gardening like raised garden kits, including cedar raised garden beds, you can go to http://raised-garden-bed-kits.com

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Bark mulch is a great way to cover your driveway or decorate your garden at home. Bark mulch is really popular and a lot of people use it because it’s very stylish.

Bark mulch is simply mulched bark from trees which is then used as a decorative material for your garden. You can get Bark mulch which is set into the ground or you can buy loose Bark mulch for your garden.

Loose Bark mulch is less popular but is certainly harder to walk and drive on. You will usually see loose Bark mulch in a park or playground and a lot of people use it in their gardens as well.

Bark mulch is a cheap and effective way of decorating your driveway or pathways and it looks stunning when done right. There are various different kinds of Bark mulch but the most popular is pine bark or chips which look amazing in landscaped gardens.

Cheap Bark mulch doesn’t have the same effect but is good for people who are on a budget - this stuff is still worth while. In simple terms, bark mulch is just bark that has been chipped into small pieces to make a mulch which gives the appropriate effect.

Bark mulch is very popular and many people use it for their driveways and garden paths. Bark mulch is mostly used for garden decoration and pathways rather than roads.

Bark mulch is widely available from garden stores but it is sometimes better to go to a specialist. A lot of people have been using bark mulch for a long time for driveways, parks and playgrounds.

If you have a lot of weeds in your garden then you’ll find that Bark mulch is very stylish and helpful. It is a well known fact that Bark mulch is a good way to stop competitive weeds from being able to grow properly.

You should consider using Bark mulch in your garden if you have water features because they look right at home and very stylish. Bark mulch is really easy to find and you won’t have a problem finding what you need for your garden or pathways.

A lot of plants benefit from Bark mulch because they keep the roots moist and the leaves free from water which is great. Unless you have a keen interest in gardening you will probably want a low maintenance garden and this is why Bark mulch is so perfect.

A lot of smaller town houses need small gardens that are low maintenance so that people will full time jobs and no interest in gardens can still enjoy an outside space. This is why Bark mulch is so handy because it is similar to paving slabs and cobbles in that they need little work throughout the year.

B&Q and Homebase are great places to buy Bark mulch and it is actually quite cheap to buy from these places. Bark mulch is an easy way to build a low maintenance garden and it is certainly very stylish and actually quite cheap.

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Hydroponic gardens are present with the early societies of man. Evident with the Hanging Gardens of Babylon and the Indians of Aztecs, there had been several systems of producing plant crops without soils.

Hydroponics has come a long way since the Aztecs and the Babylonians. It has become an important method of producing crops in various countries in the modern times. Especially where water is scarce and land is unusable for growing plants, hydroponics farming has been extremely important.

With vigilance over water care and land care today and with regulation in some developed nations, quality-controlled hydroponic crops can sustain the farming of high quality produce and at the same time being environment friendly.

With this popularity, hydroponics is no longer a subject of mysterious form of growing plants in a laboratory. It is a well established way of agriculture where anybody enthusiastic with the rules of hydroponic culture and has inclination to planting and caring for a home garden can successfully operate a highly productive and rewarding home-based hydroponics unit.

Hydroponic gardening will definitely modify your lifestyle for good. It will be providing you with fresh fruit, vegetables and flowers all year round.

There are two main methods of producing fruits the hydroponic way. The first one is the NFT system development. This system is developed by Dr Alan Cooper. It is a system of covered plastic channels with the plants growing through holes in the covers. The roots of the plants are based in the nutrient solution.

The next system involves utilizing containers with sand or other inert substances like pumice or gravel. The nutrient solution is pumped into the containers through a system of pipes or tubes. The extra solution being recycled, more water, air and nutrients are being added as needed as with the NFT system.

There are numerous advantages of hydroponics over traditional farming practices. Try it with your first hydroponics system.

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The Winter is over, the snow and cold weather is starting to fade into a distant memory or at least disappear from thought for the next eight months. Your attention starts to focus on your garden which has become a bit of a mess over the Winter period as the season goes into Spring. So, what exactly do you or should you be doing in your garden to get it into shape for the Summer? Follow the simple steps listed below and your garden will be in ship shape in no time this Spring.

Look After Your Lawn

Now it is time to start regular cutting of your lawn. The chances are the grass will be long so increase the height adjustment of the lawnmower to the highest setting and once this first cut has been done, go back over the lawn and cut it again on a lower setting. Cut your grass weekly as long grass takes more nutrients out of the soil and is harder to cut and may leave yellow patches on the lawn. If your lawn is established then apply a weed and feed and water in with a hose after a few days if it has not rained.

Tend To Your Pond

Chances are that your pond may have started to turn green and cloudy. This is mainly due to a rapid increase in algae, which flourish and grow in the warmer spring temperatures. Once the pond plants start to grow again, especially the oxygenating plants will start to use up the nutrients and create shade thus reducing the amount of algae. To hep speed up the clearing of the water, drop a string bag of barley straw into the pond. As the barley straw begins to breakdown, it will use up the excess nutrients so reducing the amount of algae and also blanket weed. If you have a waterfall or fountain try to position the barley underneath it and in still ponds weigh it down so it floats just below the surface of the water. Remove the barley after about six months before it completely rots down and starts polluting the water.

Leaves and More Leaves

Make sure to clean-up any remaining leaves and general garden rubbish. Any rubbish left will be home to snails, vine weevil, woodlice and slugs and could introduce infection and disease into your garden.

Protect Your Plants

Remember to protect plants from slugs and snails with slug pellets and course grit or traps. Alternatively try to encourage birds, hedgehogs and frogs to your garden as they all prey on slugs and snails.

What To Plant

Plant lily and gladioli bulbs in 4in (10cm) deep holes. Cover with them with soil or compost and gently firm down the soil to ensure that there are no air pockets as this may cause the bulbs to rot.

Following the simple steps laid out above this Spring and in fact every Spring should and indeed will help your garden flourish during the lazy Summer monthsQuentin Diamond has over six years experience of affiliate marketing and online shopping. To find out more about gardening and clothes to wear in your garden in the UK visit Ladies Clothes and Gardening Shops

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Maintaining a nice looking lawn does not have to be a difficult affair. To keep your lawn looking great, follow some of these easy tips and you will be well on your way. Perhaps one of the most important tips is to mow regularly. This does not imply that you must mow on the same day every week, but rather, it is important to keep the grass at a consistent height. Allowing grass to grow too high, or cutting it too frequently, will damage the lawn. An evenly cut lawn requires much less effort to mow and is also more visually pleasant.

In general, a lawn should be cut in the cool season when the grass has reached a height of about 3.5 inches. In the warm season, you will want to mow as the lawn reaches about 2.5 inches. No matter the height of the grass, never cut more than a third of the grass height because taking too much off at once may damage the lawn. When grass is damaged, it may die reducing the strength of the lawn overall. When grass dies, it can create patchy spots where there is enough nutrients available for weeds to take hold and grow.

Just as it is important not to cut too much off at once, you must also ensure that your mower blade is not dull. A dull blade does nothing but shred up the grass as it comes into contact with it. When the grass is torn up by a dull blade, dead and patchy spots will begin to appear in the lawn allowing weeds to eventually take hold. Check your blade every time you mow to make sure it is still sharp. Before you do this, however, be sure to disconnect spark plug wires. A recoil start motor may fire up if the blade is simply turned.

Be sure to change up the pattern in which you mow. Mowing in the same direction every time will train the grass to grow in a certain direction, eventually giving it a flat look. Before you actually begin mowing, however, walk over the lawn and look for potential obstacles. Sticks, stones, toys, and other objects can potentially damage the mower or injure someone nearby. Also, be aware of bumps or other spots that stand up in the lawn as these may cause the blade to go into the ground and possibly damage it.

You should also avoid cutting the grass when it is wet. This is a safety issue, and may also result in an uneven cut for the lawn. Wet grass also tends to foul up the mower housing and may clog up grass clipping bags. Absolutely avoid mowing on a hill or sloped grade when the grass is wet because it is all too easy for operator to slip up in these cases. Riding mowers may also lose their traction and tip over in these cases.

Make sure to follow safety guidelines closely.Steve Weide is a gardening and lawn care expert He operates a website featuring lawnmowers reviews and lawn care tips.

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History reveals that the Hanging Gardens of Babylon is a big evidence of a hydroponic garden. Moreover, the Aztec Indians in the now Mexico had a system of growing crops on rafts. These rafts are in shallow lakes that you can still see in floating gardens near Mexico City. Therefore, history shows the great significance of hydroponic system of growing plants even in ancient times.

Developments with hydroponics did not however take place in Europe until 1699 when Woodward discovered it. He found out that he can grow plants in a solution of water to which soil had been added.

On the other hand, Liebig, a German scientist, originated using nutrient solutions to study the nutritional requirements of plants in the 1850’s. It was then followed by Sachs in 1860. Knop also did some studies of nutrient elements in water solutions in 1861. They grew plants in nutrients-rich solutions with mineral salts. This does away with the soil as a main requirement for growing crops.

Many researches on the nutritional requirements of plants extended through even until the 1870’s. By 1925, practical applications of hydroponics were being introduced for the vast development in the greenhouse industry.

The next decade followed with the wide growth as scientists grown mindful of the prospective development of producing hydroponically to sustain the food supply with rapid growth in population. Developments remained and the commercial use of hydroponics opened worldwide gradually. But it was the N.F.T. method by Dr Alan Cooper in the 1970’s, along with improved nutritional formulations, that successfully made the hydroponic growing of a wide range of plants commercially possible.

Hydroponics has grown rapidly since the Aztecs and it has become an important method of producing crops in areas of the World where water is precious and land futile for growing plants. With conscious, well maintained hydroponic crops, we can be assured that farming high quality crops can be environment-friendly for tomorrow.

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Hydroponics gardening will improve your lifestyle by offering you with fresh fruit, vegetables and flowers all throughout the year. One of the famous systems is the NFT system development by Dr Alan Cooper with covered plastic channels. In this system, the plants are growing through holes in the covers and their roots are suspended in the nutrient solution.

One of the major benefits of a hydroponics system is that it can greatly shorten the necessary amount of time required to produce healthy crops. Whether a vegetable, flower, shrub or even trees, it can be produced without having to cultivate, weed and mulch the garden. Other important maintenance like watering and fertilizing can be taken care of by the automated system.

With the soil-less gardening, the quality of the soil will no longer be a problem with growing your crops. Hydroponics gardens can also be based in any place, irrespective of the soil or climate.

You will eventually notice that vegetables and fruit grown with the hydroponics system have a superb flavor and texture compared to the conventionally-grown counterparts. Because the crops will not be deficient in nutrients you will notice that they develop quicker and are healthier because they have more resistance to plant diseases than crops raised in the soil.

Because of the mentioned benefits, you will be efficient to grow a good number of plants in a small area bringing out better yield than ordinarily possible. As an added benefit, there is no delay as well as there is no soil to be sterilized which usually is required in between planting seasons to optimize the soil quality. This leads to continuous production, simplified farming approach, less wasted energy, and higher profitability.

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It’s pretty much impossible to find a person you know who doesn’t like the look of cheery flowers. What is much more common are those unfortunate people who don’t have room or access to a garden. The urban wonder and space-saving solution are planter boxes, that compact little garden on the go we see on so many windows and in backyards. But maybe this is your first window box, or you’re more of a butterfingers than a green thumb. Here’s a quick look at what plants and flowers go well in these mini-gardens.

Herbs:

Planter boxes are absolutely ideal for herbs, which are normally small plants to begin with. Try planting basil, cilantro, chives, or whatever your spice of choice. The taste of dried herbs is nothing compared to the freshness of aromatic, hand-picked herbs from your own garden. Besides, buying fresh herbs from the grocery store is expensive, and tricky to store. Also, when the winter turns cold, smaller planter boxes can be brought inside for fresh herbs all year long.

Vegetables:

In general, planter boxes are not large enough to accommodate a lot of vegetables (have you ever seen a watermelon growing in someone’s window?) but there are some freestanding boxes that can get pretty large. For these, try planting tomatoes and small peppers like banana peppers and jalapenos. These plants are small and hearty enough to thrive in limited space and with partial to direct sunlight.

Flowers:

Flowers are by far the most fun thing to put in planter boxes because of their delicate blossoms and rainbow varieties. When you’re planning out what to plant, a nice idea is to stagger boxes by color and shape of the flowers. Another good tip is to pair flowers with leafy green foliage for added contrast. If you choose a freestanding planter box you can even incorporate the Japanese practice of Feng Shui into your setup. For instance, to attract good fortune, place red flowers by the front door. As far as perennial or annual flowers, it’s completely up to you. Many people choose both.

Flowers can be tricky, though and different species require different exposure to sunlight. Too much or too little can kill the plant, as can overwatering. For some flower and plant combinations, use this list of flowers ordered according to the light they need.

Some perennial blooms that require direct sunlight include the following:

Aster, Baby’s Breath, Black Eyed Susan, Blue Bells, Carnations, Daisies, Delphinium, Lavender, Geranium, Hibiscus, Iris, Lily, Mums, Peonies, Phlox, Poppies and Yucca.

For leafy foliage, pair with Hosta, Hens and Chickens or various grasses

For Partial Shade Perennials try one of these:

Begonia, Bleeding Heart, Columbine, Daisies, Daylily, Foxglove, Geranium, Lily of the Valley, Peonies, Phlox, and Roses

The following foliage also takes partial sun:

Ferns, Hosta, Snow-on-the-Mountain, Wintercreeper and grasses

Finally, for perennials that don’t require sunlight, go with one of these flowers:

Astilbe, Bleeding Heart, Blue Bells, Daylily, Geranium, Lily of the Valley, Trillium, Peonies, Periwinkle, Phlox, Sweet Pea, Viola and Trinity Plant.

For a greener touch, pair mainly with a variety of ferns and Hosta. Ivy and Moss also prefer this environment

You’ll notice some flowers and plants, like phlox, peony and hosta, appear on more than one list. That is because they flourish in almost any amount of sunlight, and if you’re particularly new to gardening you may want to start with one of these hardier varieties which don’t necessarily require as much time or skill to look after as some other types of plants.Tonya Kerniva is an experienced research and free lance writing professional. She writes actively about Planter Boxes and Wood Planter Boxes .

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Gardeners know better than most people, that everything man has came out of the earth. Therefore they respect earth. But if you have decided to make a garden, you must first remember that on the face of this earth there are many places with no soil and that a garden can be made only where there is soil. If you live in a city or a town, I am thinking of your back yard. which probably looks as if it were covered with soil. But the dirt may not be soil at all. It probably was soil once. And you can make it soil again”provided you know what soil is.

Gardening is so much fun that a lot of people, when spring comes around, rush to a seed store, come home laden with seeds, and start planting. Many of them never rush to a seed store again, because they find they “cant make things grow.” Nobody ever made anything grow. A seed is a tiny high-powered bundle of determination to grow. All the gardener has to do is put it where a seed can grow. The people whom spring beguiled into a seed store and could never beguile again”those people usually put the seed in dirt all right., but not in soil.

For a vegetable seed to produce a beautiful, healthy, bountiful plant, it not only needs good soil. It also needs plenty of sunlight. So, in planning your garden, watch carefully which parts of your available space get a long days sunlight. A high board fence may mean that part of your yard will do better for flowers that love shade than for vegetables. Above all, watch out for trees and big shrubs. I sometimes think that vegetables must enjoy looking at a fine tree. But vegetables like to look from a safe distance. The tree will steal the water they need to make food available to their tiny roots. It will steal the food itself. It will steal the sunlight they must have.

Finally, the vegetables you plant to grow must have water, and in the right amounts. The water they will like most is rain. But in most parts of the United States, even where annual rainfall is adequate, the rain does not always fall when the vegetable needs it. It will pay to buy quite a long garden hose in order to be able to rescue them. If you live in the country, you may need to run a pipe from the house, a spring, a well, or a brook.

But vegetables can also have too much water. Most vegetables will not grow in a marsh, or even in a spot that frequently looks like a marsh. If your garden spot slopes slightly, so the water will run gently off”without taking your soil and added organic pest spray with it, as it will do if the slope is steep”you are safe. Even better than this surface drainage is the drainage that occurs underground when you have deep crumbly soil. To get that kind of drainage, you want to make sure there is no “hardpan” under your topsoil. If you dig a hole in your garden spot, you can easily find out whether there is hardpan. The subsoil will be packed tight and water including organic fertilizer will not sink into it readily.

In that case, if your garden spot is big plow with a long sharp blade to break up the subsoil so water will enter it. If your garden spot is small, you can do this by “trenching,” digging a foot and a half to two feet all through the garden. That takes care of three things your seed will need: good soil, plenty of sunlight, an the right amounts of water.

There is a fourth you ought to consider: climate. Considerations of climate will have a great deal to do with your choice of a garden spot, if your place big enough to offer you a choice. But even if you are not choosing between spots, the climate may dictate your choice of vegetables or else what difficulties to watch for if you grow those not very well adapted to your climate.

Remember, climate, and particular temperature, is an intensely local matter. It is not whether you live in th North or the South, or whether you live in the mountains, in a river valley or on a coast. Average temperature can vary unbelievably between two places ten miles apart, and not just because there may be a range of mountains between them. On the contrary, two sides of the hill may have quite different climatic conditions.

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