Have trouble mixing individual gallons of Miracle Gro? I always lose some granules around the top of my containers and it is such a pain to mix them each time I need another gallon.
I just came up with a solution which is great!!! In the cooler that you take camping with you, you know the big ice chest.. add about 8 tablespoons of Miracle Gro.. Then gallon by gallon measure out 8 gallons of water...
Now here's where the time saving neat trick comes in... You know the plug at the bottom of the chest you use to drain the water???? and melted ice???? Get your gallon container or watering can down by the opening.. and quickly open it and fill it up with the Miracle Gro solution... then plug it back up when it's filled.. Oila!!!!!
Isn't that cool? This saves much time and I think it's a GREAT idea!!!!
Did you know that some insects can be your allies in your garden???....For example, ladybugs control aphids (and if you don't have them.. get Bug B Gone by Ortho.), and praying mantises devour hosts of nasty bugs. Hmmmm...find some and hire them for extra 'nasty bug duty'!!
Some watering wisdom....Give your lawn a thorough watering and then be sure to allow enough time for the roots to dry before another deep soaking.
This produces extended, robust roots because they're forced to grow downward to search for water..Don't go overboard...they do need oxygen too...and also don't be too stingy...light, frequent waterings result in shallow roots. The water may even evaporate before it reaches the roots.
A really neat little tip I just found about keeping rabbits out of your garden..If you have a cat, brush your cat regularly and scatter its fur around your plants. Replace periodically, especially after a rain. Cat scent protects your salad and leaves rabbits unharmed.
Always remember when planting flowers, vegetables, seeds...or transplanting seedlings.....DO IT IN THE EVENING...or on a cloudy day...and ALWAYS..water everyday for one week straight.(unless it rains) to insure that the roots take and the plant has a good start.
Try to keep up with the weeds...when the Lord told Adam.."Cursed is the gound for thy sake;...Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee....and in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread.." in Genesis 3:17..18..19.He sure wasn't kidding..Don't let them get out of hand..Everytime you walk out and check the flowers...PULL those weeds..It's amazing how many more of them grow than flowers, right??
If you have chyrsanthemums..you must pinch them off all through the summer until July 1 (that's the cut off date)....if you don't...they will be very tall and wiry looking...You want them to be full and bushy..Now here's a tip from my Mom...when you pinch the mums...take a handful of them....dig a hole and put them into the hole and cover them as though they were seedlings....WATER them faithfully for a week....soak them....and they will in turn root...and become another plant for you...I stretch out one plant many times over in a season..
For battling those creepy, crawly critters in your garden..(no...not the grandchildren)..I use Liquid Sevin....it's very good for all sorts of bugs, catapillars, slugs, beetles and the like....it also comes in powder form..It's a war out there.....and I'm out to win!!!
I haven't had problems so far with tops of beans and tomatoes
being eaten..but if you do....here's a tip from south of the border....In a spray container, put equal parts of tabasco sauce and water and spray the plants affected (leaves and all)...There will be some "hot" tamales hopping around your yard after that..But NO MORE missing veggie plants. Also....put some moth balls all around and in your garden...they don't like the smell...(neither do I!!!)
Here's some more critter tips for deer and other 'nibbling predators' I got from Housenet today..."Deer don?t go for spicy foods, so give them a taste to
remember with a hot pepper spray. Mix 2 tablespoons of hot pepper sauce
with 1 tablespoon of liquid dish soap, 1 teaspoon of garlic powder and 1 gallon
of water. Spray on plants weekly or after it rains. Another homemade spray
recipe: 3 eggs whipped up with 2 tablespoons of cayenne pepper and a gallon
of water. Being herbivores, deer will turn their noses up to the eggs. And if they
do take a bite of a treated plant, they?ll regret the taste of the cayenne pepper."
Always remember to keep those petunias and other plants flowering all summer...pick off those dead blooms (the dead heads) ..REALLY WORKS!!
Do you want to attract more butterflies to your garden? Here's some ideas....plant a variety of perennials, annuals, and grasses of different height, color and season of bloom to provide nectar for butterflies throughout the growing season. Small tubular flowers attract a variety of butterflies. Don't overlook wildflowers and other native plants; Plant shrubs, vines and trees near the garden area of provide cover for butterflies; Also..butterflies need moist soil from which to drink. A pot-saucer filled moist sand will serve a a water source for butterflies...(more ideas on the Garden Tips page.)
