We learned how to take a soil core sample, and now we must learn how to evaluate the results of what the soil core is trying to tell us. If you learn how to read the signs properly, then you will better understand what the problem is and can zero in on the appropriate solution.

If your soil is light in color, sandy, loose or full of gravel, then the problem is that it is infertile soil that does not contain enough organic substances. As a result of this it will not retain water as it is supposed to in order to sustain plant growth. The solution is a relatively simple one- mix two to four inches of compost into the upper eight to 12 inches of your soil. After this is done you then will need to mulch the lawn and top-dress it.

If your soil looks blue or gray in color and is full of clay, then this will serve to keep the air out and will cause growth problems. Too much clay makes for very wet and soggy soil in the wintertime and a lack of hydration in the summertime. What you need to do is the same thing that was done with regards to the problem described above. Adding compost helps to open up soil that is laden with clay.

What about if your soil looks yellow, blue, black or gray and has a bad odor? If this describes your soil, then the drainage needs some help as the soil is too saturated. The solution is to install a subsurface drainage system. To optimize drainage for plants that cannot live without it, find a way to raise up your planting areas. Another option is to plant only those plants that can handle an abundance of water.

Worms and other types of creatures in your soil are actually beneficial because they aerate the soil and recycle the nutrients in it. If you have very few worms and the like, then you are probably using too much fertilizer or too many pesticides. These items can kills off worms. To fix this problem, simply ease up on your use of chemicals for your soil. Allow your soil the chance to breathe and live more naturally. Add some compost to your soil or apply half an inch of it to the top layer of the soil to help it bounce back to life!

Do you know what type of soil you have in your yard? What does the condition of your soil says about its health? One way to get better acquainted with your soil is to take a soil core sample. Doing so is similar to using a periscope of sorts to take a closer and more speculative look at what lies beneath your soil’s surface.

You can buy a special T-handled core sampler, or you can just use a spade or trowel. Doing this can help you to identify problems as they relate to your soil, and from there a diagnosis can be made. Doing this can aid you in improving the way in which you water your soil.

Having the healthiest soil around and using water in the wisest possible way will not only save you time and money, but it also will enable you to conserve the resources you have, and it will take away the need to use any type of chemicals on your soil. A healthier garden and lawn is much easier to take care of and will look as though it is brimming with life because it will be!

How to Take a Soil Core Sample

If you decide to use a spade or trowel to do the sample, you need to carefully lift a slice of soil that is shaped like a wedge. Don’t worry about messing up your yard. Once you are finished you can simply put the remaining soil back into place, and it will soon look as if you had never removed it in the first place.

If you decide to use a T-handled core sampler, then lean on it and push the sampler three to six inches down into the ground. If the soil is damp or a little wet, it will be easier to maneuver. However, if your soil is dry or is very closely packed, then you may find that it is necessary to twist the sampler from side to side as you push down on it.

Take samples from a couple of different locations in your yard. In particular, if your soil starts to look a little different, then sampling is recommended.

If you know anyone who has a lilac bush in his yard, then you probably have stopped by it frequently in late May and early June to breathe in the scent of its blossoms. It is a smell that I never grow tired of.

Lilacs blossom for only a few weeks of the year, so you must get out there and enjoy them while you can. To give your home the lilac scent, clip some off the bushes and bring them inside. Not only are they scent-sational, but they are pretty as well.

There are more than 1,000 different kinds of lilacs. Some are early varieties, while others are middle or late bloomers. In order to have the opportunity to enjoy your lilacs as long as possible, then plant as many different varieties as you can. By doing so, you make it possible to have lilacs blossoming in your yard for as long as six weeks. You can still be enjoying the scent of lilacs into July when most people have already bid farewell to theirs for the year!

Not all lilacs are as fragrant as others. Let your nose be your guide to sniffing out the ones that smell the loveliest! In the same way, lilacs are available in a variety of colors. Look around, and you will see. There is a color for everyone! There are dark purple lilacs and light purple ones, as well as pink lilacs, white ones and even blue ones. The purple and white ones are more common in the area where I live, but where you reside might be different.

Lilac bushes are low maintenance bushes that are very hardy and do not require a tremendous amount of maintenance to grow. They can grow anywhere from four to eight feet and taller. Some lilac bushes will grow to a height of 30 feet!

Lilacs like lots of sunlight, so always plant a lilac bush in a southern or western facing location. If you live in a colder area, then plant the bushes in the late spring. On the other hand, if you live in a warmer area, then it is advisable to plant lilac bushes in the autumn.

Lilac bushes have a long life span. They can live for as long as 50 years if you treat them well!

Does anything taste better than plucking a big juicy tomato from the garden and eating it with your evening meal? Or maybe you are so eager that you wash it and sample it still standing in the middle of your garden!

Although tomatoes are actually fruits, most of us think of them as vegetables. They somehow go better in salads than they do mixed into a fruit cocktail! There are literally hundreds of different varieties of tomatoes. Not all of them are red or even round. Tomatoes belong to the same family as peppers, potatoes and eggplant and often can fall victim to the same pests and diseases. For this reason, crop rotation is strongly recommended.

Here we provide some tips to consider when growing tomatoes.

• If you choose to start your tomatoes from seed, then make sure you plant them far enough apart that each one has some room to grow.
• If you must plant them relatively close together, then once they begin to sprout leaves, transplant them. Once they get even larger, move them into bigger pots if it is necessary.
• Tomato seedlings need plenty of sunlight to grow and thrive. Place them where they will receive as much sunlight as possible. Unlike you, tomato seedlings will not be harmed by the sun’s burning rays!
• If you are planning to grow your tomatoes inside a greenhouse in your backyard, then grow them under strong fluorescent grow lights for a period of 14 to 18 hours per day.
• If you live in an area with plenty of wind in the warmer months, then don’t worry. This is actually good for the plants, as it provides mobility and helps to make the stems as strong and durable as possible.
• If you are growing the tomato plants in a greenhouse, then place a fan nearby and let it provide a breeze for anywhere from five to 10 minutes, not once but twice a day.
• Let us back track a bit. Before you even plant your tomatoes in your vegetable garden heat up the soil for optimum results, much in the same way you would preheat an oven to cook a turkey! Warmth can encourage the growth of your tomatoes big time! A few weeks before you are ready to plant, cover the soil with red or black plastic and leave it be. Just wait and see how well your tomatoes will respond!

White vinegar is a cheap cleaner that is friendly to the environment and can be used for a variety of tasks in your lawn and garden. For example, when watering your azaleas, add a cup of vinegar to a gallon of water and then watch your flowers get brighter and more beautiful!

Improve the acidity of your soil with vinegar by adding it to the water you use to hydrate your gardenias, rhododendrons and your azaleas, as mentioned above.

Weeds anywhere on your lawn, in your garden or on your path do not have to be a problem thanks to vinegar. Forget weed killers filled with pesticides and a myriad of harmful chemicals. Simply spray vinegar on the weeds and say goodbye to them!

Spray the weeds on a dry day but make sure the weeds get hit with the vinegar, not your lawn or any of your plants. If you get vinegar on anything else it is likely to kill that, too. The spot where your weeds grew will turn brown after you spray it, but in time it will return to normal and be blessedly weedless! (Please note- in order to strengthen the work of the vinegar you may wish to add a little bit of orange oil extract to the solution).

Are ants ruining your plants, your picnics and your enjoyment of your yard? If yes, then it is time to get rid of them. Ants do not like vinegar at all. Mix one part vinegar to one part dish soap and two parts water and then spray it on the ant hills that you find throughout your lawn and garden. This should kill most of the ants. The ones left standing will move elsewhere. Hopefully it is far away from your property! You may have to spray the ant hills a couple of time before all activity ceases. The vinegar will leave behind a residue that the ants will not appreciate and therefore will not return.

If garden lime is excessive then neutralize it by spraying vinegar in applicable areas.  After working with garden lime, wash your hands with vinegar to prevent roughness and flaking.

If your clay and plastic flowerpots are stained, then fill a tub of water or your kitchen sink and clean them thoroughly with cold water and plain vinegar. Use two parts water to one part vinegar.

There is nothing more glorious than a rainbow of colors in your garden! The gladiolus fits the bill perfectly for this. It is a tall flower that produces large blossoms of a multitude of colors. Glads, as they are sometimes called, grow in colors of pink, white, orange, yellow, purple, peach and green. It is even possible to find glads in a mixture of colors.

The word gladiolus means sword in Latin, which is why it is sometimes referred to as a sword lily. The glad is not from the lily family, however, but is instead a member of the iris family (Iridaceae).

Glads come from corms, which are bulb-like, and they are especially lovely in floral arrangements. If you have a special occasion coming up, then look to the gladiolus for the splash of color you need to make a room come alive!

Planting Gladiolus

Planting glads in rows is best, if you plan to use them for floral arrangements. It is easier to harvest and take care of them when you plant them in this manner, which is akin to how vegetables are planted. Please be aware that gladiolus tend to be a little stiff and not always the simplest flower to work with.

You might choose to plant them as borders around flower beds or mix them with your annual plants. If you choose to do this for the most aesthetically appealing effect, it is recommended that you plant them in groups of seven or more.

Glads should be planted in the middle of May and then approximately every two weeks until the middle of June. This will ensure that you will have lots of blossoming throughout the months of July and August. Another option is to plant a variety of sizes of corms. The larger corms tend to blossom sooner than the smaller ones and have larger flowers.

When buying corms, choose ones that are tall and plump as opposed to wide and flat. Thicker corms make for flowers of a higher quality. Use this as a guideline- look for corms that resemble Hershey’s Kisses.

Plant the corms in an area of the garden where there is lots of sunlight. Gladioli will grow bigger, stronger and more vibrant if they receive an ample amount of the sun’s rays on a regular basis. In the same way, make sure that the soil they are planted in is drained well.

Whether you live in a small apartment in the middle of a bustling city or a sprawling ranch style home in the country, container gardens that take the form of window boxes are an excellent way to grow flowers.

As long as you have a window that allows you to attach a window box to it, you can become a container gardener. Container gardens are easy to plant and maintain. All you need is the interest, space and a little bit of gardening know-how to get started.

So, what do you need to know? First of all, there are different kinds of window boxes, so it is important that you select one that will coordinate well with your home. Hardwood boxes can be stained and painted easily to match the trim on your home. The same can be said for treated softwood boxes.

The size of the window box you choose is significant. The length should be reasonably close to the size of the window, although a tad bit longer or shorter should not affect the appearance of it too much.

Purchase a box that is at least eight inches in width because the flowers need plenty of room to grow and you don’t want the soil to dry out too quickly. You should look for a window box that is deep enough to allow the roots the room they need to spread out. Eight inches deep is a good measurement to aim for.

When you put up the window box make sure it is a couple of inches below your window and that it does not impede the movement of the window. You may have to place the window box even lower if you have a window that opens in an outward direction.

If you have a lot of windows on your home but only wish to start with one window box, then how do you know which window to choose when they all seem appropriate? The key element is which window will allow your plants the greatest degree of sunlight on a regular basis. This makes a difference. Of course, the down side to this is the more sun exposure the plants get, the more you will have to water them (especially if you live in an area that does not experience a great deal of rainfall).

You always have been a flower gardener but have decided to break into the world of growing vegetables. Planting the seeds for your vegetables of choice is only the beginning. Next comes the stage where you need to tend to and nurture your precious plants, so that they will grow to be happy and healthy and, eventually, ripe for the picking!

What do you need to do in order to grow a prosperous garden that will bear fruit or vegetables?

Sunlight is a given for vegetable plants. Just as people require it to get their fill of vitamin D, so do your vegetables need it in order to grow. The second most important element to encouraging vegetables to grow is a sufficient amount of water. Watering your plants the proper way is a necessity.

It is preferable to water your garden in the morning, as that gives the moisture time to absorb before it gets warmer and drier. Most vegetable plants need at least an inch of water on a weekly basis.

Another option for watering, if you do not have a lot of time to do it yourself, is to set up a system with a timer, so your plants get the irrigation they need.

Fight the growth of weeds that can harm your plants at every stage of their development by weeding on a consistent basis. Don’t wait until you see an abundance of weeds, but check the garden frequently and when you see them, remove them immediately!

When getting rid of weeds, pull or dig up the entire weed, root and all. This makes reseeding less of a worry. Make sure you dispose of the weeds you have dug up, and don’t just leave them in a pile in the garden.

Fertilize your crops as directed. Find out what techniques are required for individual plants before you buy them. In order for your plants to grow to be healthy vegetables full of all of the good things, you need to feed your plants and nurture them with TLC.  Bear in mind that your crops need nutrients, and the flow of nutrients must come from the soil they are living in. That is why fertilizing is so essential.

Enjoy those tomatoes, zucchinis, or corn that your vegetable garden will delight you with when you give it what it needs to thrive!

Water is a precious commodity and finding ways to conserve it is always smart. Very often finding ways to conserve water involves making only minor modifications in the way you do things in your yard. Read on for some water saving techniques that are as eco-friendly as can be!

Choose the plants you buy wisely. Don’t just consider their attractiveness but also buy plants that are well suited to your soil and climate and do not require a great deal of watering. If you live in a very dry climate where water shortages tend to happen frequently, then buy drought-tolerant plants. If you are not well versed in which plants need lots of water and which do not, then speak to someone at your local nursery or do some research online.

Use rainwater for the betterment of your garden. Harvesting systems for rainwater can collect runoff from the roof of your home or work shed by way of downspouts and gutters. This water can then be routed to an underground or aboveground tank or receptacle. The water can be pumped into your garden to water your plants or used to irrigate your lawn.

If you don’t have a fancy set-up or cannot afford to do what has been suggested above, then you can do what my grandmother used to do- place rain barrels at the corners of your home where the water runs off the roof. Then when you want to water plants or flowers, dip a pail or a watering can into it and get to it!

If you want your lawn to be as green and as healthy as possible, then the less of it you have the better. Consider shrinking it in size. In this way you will need to mow it less and will have to water it less. It also will be less time consuming for you overall. Planting more bushes, shrubs and trees can help.

Learn everything you can about organic gardening, and then make it happen! When you garden organically you work with nature not against it.  Use environmentally friendly gardening techniques. Make use of mulch, manure and compost to encourage healthy soil and healthy plants.

Annuals and perennials have some differences. Are you aware of what they are? And then there are also biennials. Are you confused yet?! Read on to familiarize yourself with the difference kinds of flowers. Once you know the differences you can then make sure to buy and plant the right varieties for your garden! You don’t want to buy a flower that is not good for your climate or soil or worse yet, plant it at the wrong time and have it die on you!

Annuals

An annual flower is grown from seed. It blooms and sets seed, and then it dies off. Annuals last for only one season at a time. You will need to replant annuals every spring season. There are plenty of types of annuals, and most bloom and stay lovely from spring right through to the autumn. Some examples of annuals include impatiens, snapdragons and zinnias.

Perennials

Perennials live for three seasons and sometimes more. One way to remember the difference between a perennial and an annual is to take note of the first letter- p. P stands for permanent and that is how you can differentiate between the two.

Perennial flowers are not always mature enough in their first year in order to bloom fully. Perennials generally need to be replaced and/or rejuvenated every three to five years. There are many types of perennials that are very beautiful. Unfortunately their season to shine is very short. Perennials only bloom for a brief period of time throughout the calendar year. On average they bloom for only one to three weeks at a time. For that reason they must be enjoyed when their time arrives!

Biennials

A biennial is a flower that grows vegetation during its first year of life. It remains alive during the wintertime and then it blossoms during its second season. It will then bloom, set seed and die. Some examples of biennials include pansies, hollyhocks and foxgloves.

There are also other types of flowers that do not fit comfortably into any of the aforementioned three categories. For example, the osteospermum is a half hardy annual. In general, half hardy annuals are half and half. In other words, they are considered to be perennial flowers if grown in warmer climates but are also versatile enough to be grown as annuals in colder climates.

Talk about confusing! When in doubt speak to someone at your local nursery or greenhouse for help.