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7 Easy Steps To Attract More Birds To Your Yard
Did you get an expensive, attractive bird feeder for Christmas?
No doubt you excitedly filled it with birdseed and waited for
flocks of new birds to visit their new restaurant.
Little or no activity? The reason may be that it takes more...
Environmentally Safe Ways to Remove Weeds
There is a lot of concern about herbicides and what they are doing to our environment. Large amounts of chemicals leech into our groundwater polluting our water supply. Cancers and strange diseases with no apparent cause are being linked to...
How to Choose a Gazebo
It’s been said, “Be in the world, but not of it.” Gazebos can make that possible for all those people who have looked out a window at the rain and the wind and wanted to be there without suffering nature’s ravages. Many people want to sit outside...
Laying Out Your Landscape Part Two
Once you have your landscape design on paper, now it’s time to transfer it to the actual location where you will be planting your plants. You will need a couple of tools in order to accomplish this. First it’s handy to have a long tape measure. For...
Site drainage problems
Site drainage problems Inspect the grounds of your old house for drainage problems Observe the drainage pattern of the entire property, as well as that of the properties next door. The ground should slope away from all sides of the building....
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Water Conservation For Gardeners
There are many ways gardeners can plan and save on water usage
and water requirements in the landscape.
Sometimes the old fashion methods are not used. The simplest
that I know is like playing cards and gambling. Gamble and plant
early. There is usually more soil moisture early in the spring
than later as the average daily temperatures rise. We order some
seedlings that we don't grow ourselves and have them shipped to
us as early as possible. If we can't plant them outside, we heal
them in and wait till they can be planted. If the seedlings are
small, we consider potting them up and waiting for perfect
conditions. This gives us more chances to time our plantings to
the soil condtions that we want.
Old fashion methods also did not rely on lots of chemical
fertilizers. Lots of fertilizers don't induce the plants to grow
deep roots. Deep roots allow plants to tolerate dry periods
better than shallow roots which dry out easily. Let your plants
work for their nutrients. Make them develop far reaching roots
and then reward them with fertilizers. These plants will not
suffer as much from a lack of rainfall.
Create your own compost pile and use compost and mulches to
help the soil reserve moisture. Plants are not fussy about the
compost organic matter. Composted manure, leaves and grass, lawn
clippings, table scraps, even Fido can contribute! Mulches hold
in moisture by cutting down on evaporation of water from the
soil. Mulches also help
retain runoff of water when there is a
hard rain. Do not use plastic liners and covers as weed barriers
as these block water from the soil and also prevent air from the
root zone of the plants.
Screens and buffers also help in water conservation. Screens
and buffers cut down on wind velocity across the landscape. If
you can buffer the winds you will help your soil retain moisture
longer.
Plant selection also can be used to select plants that don't
require as much moisture. An example is American Arborvitae vs
Emerald Green Arborvitae. The Emerald green is more drought
sensitive than the American. The emerald green is a more dense
plant. Thus with more surface area, it will require more
moisture making it more sensitive to drought conditions.
Use a rain barrel. My father in law uses a plastic 55 gal.
drum. He fills it from the house downspouts. Water is always
handy when needed and best of all its free.
If you are going to water a gentle cultivation loosens the soil
so that the water can soak in easily. Hard compacted soils sends
water to your neighbors. Avoid runoff, encourage the water to
soak in.
About the author:
Bill contributes articles on subjects dealing with the nuresy
trade and landscaping. His web sites are:
http://www.seedlingsrus.com and http://www.zone5trees.com His
home farm is in Doylestown Pa. about 30 miles north of
Philadelphia. His phone # is 215651 8329
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