Gardening

It may not seem possible, but even after a major storm or hurricane with high winds, many trees can actually be restored. As long as the major limbs are still intact, as well as the trunk and roots, and there is no decaying wood, the tree has a high possibility of surviving.

The strong winds that come with a hurricane often cause all the leaves on a tree to be blown off. This is referred to as defoliation of the canopy. However, this doesn't mean the tree has died. In fact, when a canopy is defoliated it is probably still rather healthy. In this case, all you have to do is wait and be patient. When spring rolls around the next year, new foliage will probably crop up. Another cause of leaf loss occurs when trees are flooded by salt water. Deal with this by irrigating the soil around the tree to get rid of any excess salt.

If only small branches are broken or dead, you can usually fix this through some simple pruning. If you prune properly, the tree will have a high chance of recovery.

In trees that are naturally resistant to decay, if only a few major limbs are broken, the tree may be recoverable. A good example of this is live oak. This is a species of tree that is very good at resisting decay. Even with major branch damage, restoration is usually possible. Of course, the younger the tree, the more likely it can be restored.

In decay resistant trees, major canopy damage doesn't always pose a problem either. These trees naturally recover well after storms, even with up to 3/4 of their small branches broken or removed.

Smaller trees that are leaning or have fallen are good candidates for recovery. But keep in mind that this only applies to trees that have been planted recently or have a trunk diameter smaller than 4in. These trees can be put back in place or replanted, depending on the situation. For larger trees that you want to recover, contact the professionals.

A small tree, however, shouldn't be a problem for the homeowner to reestablish without any outside help.

Here’s how to replant a small tree:

Keep the roots moist at all times. Excavate the hole to fit the roots well and get rid of any jagged or torn roots. Make the tree as straight as possible and then back fill with soil from the site. Treat the tree as you would a newly planted one, by watering thoroughly. Three gallons per inch of trunk diameter three times a week should be fine. Lastly, stake the tree and adjust the stakes until the tree becomes stable again and can be removed.

Cleaning up tree damage and recovering trees on your property doesn’t have to be a major undertaking. Of course, the difficulty and duration of the job will depend on the severity of the storm damage, but in most cases a large number of trees are able to be recovered and restored to their former glory.

GreenMark Landscaping Provides professional Florida Landscaping - Lawn Care Orlando

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Our first garden was a mess…initially. Interested in eating only organically grown food and no desire to pay for the overpriced produce, my girlfriend and I decided to grow our own garden in our back yard, free from pesticides, herbicides, etc. We were happy to finally see the plants peeking out of the topsoil but not so excited when chunks were missing from our tomatoes!

We learned quickly that squirrels were to blame. I read lots about them in order to learn how to get rid of them. We wanted to take care of the situation in a humane manner. I was told by someone that if you hire a trapper to trap an animal that it is against the law for them to release the animal back into the wild so they must kill it. I’m not entirely sure if that true or if it is the case everywhere but I decided to deal with it myself none the less. Here’s a quick background on squirrels in case you are unfamiliar.

Squirrels are members of the rodent family. The Eastern Gray Squirrel is the type that mostly becomes a nuisance to home owners. They generally weigh in at around one pound and measure up at about 16-19 inches from nose to tail. They mostly live in trees and are active year round. They eat a wide variety of foods. They eat nuts, seeds, fruits, and seed from the birdfeeder and of course tomatoes from our garden. Most important to note is their instinctive fear of those animals a little higher above in the food chain. Well, that makes sense and it’s an almost obvious statement. I recall from reading the tips and tricks guide that came with my back yard composter that I bought this year to sprinkle some dog fur around the composter. Why? According to the handy guide it is done to deter smaller animals from hanging out and nesting in there. The dog fur suggests to the little guys that a dog is nearby and will be around soon and their instinctive fear of the canine keeps them away.

So, I wondered if the squirrel was instinctively afraid of dogs but I came up short. I learned that hey are in fact afraid of the fox. I don’t want to harm squirrels even though they can be quite irritating but I have no problem scaring the wits out of them. Much to my surprise fox urine was something available for purchase. I’ll provide links below to the website where it is available. There are two forms, a liquid form and a granular form. I chose the granular form and it worked like a charm. Apparently there are no chemicals present so it is safe around plants, pets and children. Although it wasn’t a particular issue for me, this stuff is supposed to repel other varmints like rabbits, chipmunks, woodchucks and groundhogs. It’s definitely worth a try and is an affordable option. Good luck to you.

Kevin Merlot is all about the natural way of things. He invites you to visit the Yardiac website to learn more about the products used to keep the nuisance varmints out of your yard and home. Products discussed in this article are fox urine in liquid form and fox urine in granular form.

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Gardening is the practice of growing flowering plants, vegetables, and fruits. Gardening is an excellent means of diverting the mind from work, family conflicts, or other issues, hence relieving stress and providing mental relaxation. Gardening is a relaxing activity, great for unwinding after a difficult day at work, especially when gardening on a small, personal scale. Gardening is fun, even sounds fun doesn't it. Gardening is good for the soul too.

Gardening

Gardening is as good for you or better than traditional exercises. Gardening is now a multi-billion-dollar industry, and what the industry creates and sells is products, ninety percent of which you don't need. Gardening is more difficult than surfing and scuba diving, and ranks about even with fly-fishing. Gardening involves a number of different kinds of exercises, including stretching, weightlifting, and a moderate cardiovascular workout. Gardening therapy, as vocational horticulture curriculum, can be a tool to improve social bonding in addition to developing improved attitudes about personal success and a new awareness of personal job preparedness.

Container

Container gardening is usually used in atriums and on balconies, patios, and roof tops. Container gardening is a great way to garden, no matter how much space you have. Containers that are used for container gardening can be anything from gallon milk jugs with the tops cut off to terracotta pots, plastic window boxes to half barrels. Containers can be custom-made for an individual, giving everyone an opportunity to exercise their green thumb.

Gardening is a great way to get kids outside, active, and interested in the natural world, no matter whether your garden is a few deck planters or a backyard or community plot. In respect to its food producing purpose, gardening is distinguished from farming chiefly by scale and intent. One of the most attractive features of container gardening is the versatility. The key to container gardening is in knowing the characteristics of the container.

Gina has been writing articles for some time now. She writes on many different topics. Be sure to View her most current articles:

Container Gardening
The Importance of Good Nutrition At Any Age

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Thankfully, planning the layout of your herb garden is not rocket science nor does it have to be like any of the magnificent garden of the world like Kew Gardens in England or the Longwood gardens in Pennsylvania. These gardens are artificial in nature and require the skill of professional horticulturists to grow and maintain them. Your herb garden layout is much simpler and will not require anywhere near as much work.

A real herb garden needs to still look and grow like they were meant to. Not only will this help the herbs, but will save your back. Let the herbs themselves help you plan your herb garden layout.

What Resources Are Available to You?

Take an honest look at what resources you have for your herb garden layout. If you already have a greenhouse, you have a great place for seedlings or herbs that need a more Mediterranean climate in order to grow, like basil. If you don’t have a greenhouse or a large garden plot, away from car exhaust and tons of shade, then don’t fret. Just use a simple steel rack and flowerpots in your kitchen or front porch as your portable herb garden layout. An herb garden doesn’t have to be all in one patch of ground in order to be a useful, satisfying herb garden.


What Herbs To Grow?

Take a look at what herbs you usually use in your cooking and start from there. Now, if you want to grow mint, you must keep in mind that mint demands a lot of space and will choke any other herbs or flowers growing nearby so it needs to be in a space all on its own. However, herbs like parsley don’t mind a little company.

As you can now see you just can’t plant herbs willy-nilly into the ground. That’s an herb garden layout that’s a recipe for disaster. You have to actually do some homework as to what kind of soil your herb prefers, how far apart it should be from other herbs, how much sunlight it needs, and when its growing season is.

As they say don’t run before you can walk. Why not start of with a few hardy herbs such as thyme, parsley, chives and dill until you get the hang of it. Your herb garden layout will vary from season to season as your experience grows and understanding of what plants need to flourish. You will soon start to reap your harvest of fresh organic herbs and your cooking and life will be richer for it.

Authors Biography: Paul Courtney writes articles for various publications pertaining to Alternative Medicine, Herbal Medicine, Organics and is the main contributor to http://www.aherbalman.com

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