Gardening Toolshed

The Beetle Invasion: Aphids in Your Garden

Very few people truly like insects of any sort. In most cases, gardeners are amongst those who like them the least. Even the most pacifistic of gardeners could second guess his stance when he sees the destruction that some insects can do. A gardener could spend an entire summer pruning his flowers to look just the perfect way or helping his vegetables to grow big and strong. And when that gardener walks into his backyard to see his flowers or his vegetables destroyed by insects, he will seriously reconsider his life choices. Thus is the pattern of the Aphid invasion.

Aphids can be quite annoying to the gardener. They excrete a sweet substance that, like the soda pop left in the mini-van, quickly turns black on the leaves of the plants. And like the soda, ants love this sweet substance and will flock to it. Now your rose looks like a house after a teenager’s parents left him home alone for the first time. There’s the sweet substance from the aphid that makes the flower look dingy. There’s also an entire colony of ants marching across your hard work

Though it is tempting to squash each and every last one of these bugs, to do so would take an annoyingly (not to mention impossibly) long time. Instead, gardeners must cautiously attack the aphid invasion.

There are a number of methods available to the gardener to get rid of his aphid problem. Each one has positive effects and negative drawbacks. For instance, the suggestion to squash ever aphid is safe to the environment, but it may not be an efficient use of resources.

There are a great deal of pesticides out there as well. The key is trying to find one that is good to the environment, doesn’t harm the drinking water, and still takes care of the aphid invasion. The best way to find one of these is to go to a greenhouse and to see what they suggest.

The greenhouse workers will also know that you should not try to kill of all the aphids in your garden. It’s temping when you see them dragging their ant friends everywhere, but you have to remember that nature’s ecosystem is a balance. There are insects that eat those aphids. So if you kill them off, there will not be anything more for the predators to eat. This causes three problems. First, the predators find this arrangement extremely inconvenient. Second, their predators find it inconvenient as well. And thirdly when the next family of aphids comes in for a bit, they’ll most likely stay around. After all, you got rid of their predators.

So if you can put up with the aphid invasion, it’s best to do so. If you do need to do get rid of them, make sure to leave a few around to guard against the return of the predators.

Overcome Shyness: Find Your Dream Woman
How to Overcome Shyness and Find the Woman of Your Dreams – new book by Scott Holland.
hop.clickbank.net/?malkeenan/biodynamic

The Effects of Over Watering Your Plants

While most people are aware of the effects of under watering their plants, many are not aware of what happens when they over water their plants, and those effects can be just as damaging to a plant or garden as the effects of under watering. In fact, the typical reason that a houseplant dies is because it has been over watered.

While the amount of water a plant should be receiving depends largely on the type of plant it is, what the season is, what the temperature is, and the local climate, the signs of an over watered plant are generally the same. For example, gradual defoliation (where the lower leaves on the plant yellow and fall), rapid defoliation, wilting or drooping, spotted foliage, stunted plants, and fuzzy, gray mould around the flowers, leaves, or stem of the plant, are all signs of potential over watering.

Since the symptoms mentioned above can also be indicative of other problems, however, to accurately determine whether you are over watering you plants, you should carefully observe how frequently you water them. Rapid defoliation, for example, could also be caused by rapid changes in room temperature or even insufficient water. Gradual defoliation could be a result of a lack of sufficient light or fertilizer or, again, a result of under watering. Too much fertilizer or exposure to extreme cold could also cause some of the plant problems listed above. Another way to help you determine whether you are over watering your plants is to check their roots, as rotten roots are a strong indication of over watering.

As a general rule, although not always agreed upon, your garden should receive about one inch per week of water. This is only a guideline for watering your garden, though, since it is much more effective if you personally observe your garden in order to judge how much water it needs. If you do go by the one inch per week rule, remember that this amount will have to be adjusted from time to time depending on the season, climate, and needs of your plants or garden.

One of the most significant environmental factors affecting how much water your garden will need is the rate of evapotranspiration. Evapotranspiration refers to the two ways that plants lose water. Evaporation is one form of evapotranspiration and has to do with the natural loss of water into the air. Transpiration is another way that plants lose water and refers to the loss of water by the plant itself, usually through the leaves or the stem of the plant.

The best way to make sure that you are properly watering your garden is to fuse simple common sense. First, instead of trying to follow a calendar that tells you when to water, examine the soil in your garden yourself to see if it is too dry and crumbly or, in contrast, too muddy. Checking the soil will help you avoid both over watering and under watering. Second, water slowly. Watering too quickly causes water runoff. Third, water deeply so that more than just the top layer of soil gets watered. Finally, water in the morning. Watering in the heat of the day can cause too much evaporation and watering late at night in humid climates can cause disease and fungal growth.
For most people, as long as they are aware of the consequences of both under watering and over watering their garden, the problem is one that is easily avoided and rarely occurring.

Low Water Gardening – Xeriscaping Tips
E-book providing detailed ideas on how to conserve water in your landscape.
hop.clickbank.net/?malkeenan/xeriscape