Gardening in Shade: Some useful information

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Gardening does not always means that you need to grow plants in full sun....

Gardening does not always means that you need to grow plants in full sun. Shade in the garden is like a nightmare for many gardeners. Though most of the vegetables like Tomatoes, or cucumbers require full sun for their development, many plants can grow wonderfully well in shade. Here in this article we will try to give you some idea on how you can do gardening in shady condition.

When people talk about shade they can mean a variety of condition. So at times it can be confusing to what actually a shade gardening refers to. First of all let us make a distinction between different types of shades.

Gardening in partial shade

1.    Partial shade: This kind of shading refers to a condition where the place receives direct sunlight for less than 4 hours.
2.    Full shade: This is a condition where there is no direct sunlight through out the whole year. There are some plants (like Euphorbia) which can grow well in areas like this.
3.    Dry shade: If you are planting under some big tree the chances are that apart from being shaded, the place will be very dry. As the water content of the soil is mostly sucked in by the big trees. There are few plants which can survive in these conditions also.
4.    Moist shade: In case the planting is near any big water source such as ponds or rivers the soil remains very wet through the season. In this condition plants are never short of water.

It is the partial shade that we will discuss in this article. As we have already discussed in out earlier article Sun or no Sun, if you want to grow fully grown fruits in a plant, you need to provide them more than 6 hours of sunlight. Having said that, crops such as Spinach and other leafy vegetables, Peas, Cauliflower can grow pretty on partial shade.

Some tips on growing vegetables in shade:
Most of the plants which grow in the shade generally have larger leaves to absorb more light. Do not crowd shade tolerant plants. It will help to absorb most of the light available. Less crowding will also increase the air flow through the plant and will reduce many diseases.
Paint the walls of your buildings surrounding the shady area with lighter paint. It will increase the light reflection and provide light support to the dark shady areas. You can also use mirror tiles or metallic surfaces for this purpose.

Benefits of Shade gardening:
There are some benefits also if you are doing gardening in shade. If you remember, while discussing growing tips about Cauliflower and several others we have informed you about the effect of heat on bolting. In case your gardening is in the shade the impact of bolting can be reduced. The leafy vegetables such as Spinach lettuce grown in partial shade will look much fresher and you can enjoy them for a longer period of time. This is due to the fact that the more they are in the sun the larger will be the amount of water loss.

Talking about water, you also need to water the plants less regularly than when in the direct sun. By knowing ideal plants for shade, you can very easily optimize your total garden space. Plant the plants which prefer the direct sunlight in the sunny place whereas as in rest of the partial shaded spaces you can easily cultivated rest of the plants. It will help you to double your total vegetable output.

You can get some vivid idea about sun and its impact on vegetables growing in this article.



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Top Five Companion Plants For Tomatoes

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Here in this article we will give you some of the best choices for...

Here in this article we will give you some of the best choices for companion plants of tomatoes. As a companion plant they provide one or more than one of the benefits to the tomato plants like:

1.    Reduce pests
2.    Improve health and flavor
3.    Reduce diseases
4.    Help in pollination

We have discussed about the basic of companion planting in our earlier article. So if you have missed that by any chance you can find it by clicking here. There are so many plants which can act as a companion to the tomato plants but here in this article we have chosen our top five.

Best Companion Plants For Tomatoes

Marigold:

These brightly colored flowered plants are known to everybody for their pungent smell. And surely you can use them to deter pests. It is a best controller for the nematodes (More on nematodes in this article).

How To Grow Marigolds

They produce a substance called alpha-terthienyl which reduces the root knot nematodes in the soil. The best way to do it is to first grow the plant and at the end of the season chop and till them into the soil. Apart from nematodes, slugs, worms and other garden pests can be reduced by planting Marigold plants along with Tomatoes.

Spinach/Lettuce:

Planting Basil, Spinach or Lettuce along with tomatoes can greatly increase the taste of tomatoes. You can also save a lot of space by planting them in union. It increases the rate of pollination for both the plants. As a “cherry on the top of the cake”, it also saves your tomato plants from whiteflies, mosquitoes, aphids etc. Being larger in size tomato plants also provide shades for these leafy vegetables.

Carrots:

As they say: “Carrots love Tomatoes”. Carrots share the space well with tomatoes. The roots of the carrot break up the soil very well. So if you have planted it along with tomatoes, the tomato plant can take nutrients, water etc very easily. It is also helpful in harvesting. Plant the carrots when the tomatoes are very tiny and they will be ready to be harvested by the time tomato plants require more space to proliferate.

Carrots Love Tomatoes Best book on Companion Planting

 

Onions/Garlic:

Onions and garlic are natural deterrent of pests. This is due to their pungent odor. Planting them along with tomatoes will definitely reduce your pest management cost. They are a good option if your tomatoes are infested with spider mites. Planting garlic cloves around tomato plants is like providing a natural insecticide to the plant. 

Borage:

Borage protects tomatoes from the hornworms. Growing borage along with tomatoes can help deterring the worms and keep your tomatoes healthy. Borage also has a fresh flavor to it so you can use the smaller leaves to salads or refreshing drinks. Besides tomatoes you can also use borage as a companion plant with Cabbage to deter cabbage worms.

For more ideas about companion plants of tomatoes see the video below.



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Solarization: Know the Basics

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Today we will discuss a very interesting but simple way for controlling weed problems...

Today we will discuss a very interesting but simple way for controlling weed problems in your garden. It is called Solarization process. We have used the term in our earlier article Weed controlling in organic ways. Here we will give some details so that you can try out in your garden.

In a very simple terms, solarization means using the heat from the sun to kill the weed in your garden. In this method the gardening area is covered with clear polythene then it is exposed to the full hot sun so that the light and heat can reach to the ground and cook the weed seeds which remained hidden inside the soil.
 

Why do I need soil Solarization?

Most people are unaware of this method and normally prefer other techniques in weed controlling. But there are some definite benefits which you get once you have decided to go for solarization.

There are so many weed seeds that are beneath the soil surface and are very hard to find. Though people put a thick layer of mulch to kill them, if the weed seeds are very vigorous, they can come on top of the mulch back to the light. Some time landscape fabrics are spread over the garden and then in some places holes are punched to plant new plants. This process in not full proof and can be infected by weeds. Though there is little bit hard work involved, it is by far the best way to kill the entire weeds in a given area. And once completed, your garden will be the best place for your new plants to live.

This method is entirely organic. There is no herbicide or other pesticides involved. You are using nature’s energy to a better use.

Although it is primarily meant to kill weeds, it will also reduce the nematodes, soil insects and many other soil borne diseases.

How to do Solarization:

The best time for practicing this is when the sun is at its full power i.e. in the summers. First choose the area which you want to solarize. Try to choose the area where there is very little shade available, the main purpose of the solarization will be hampered if the sun is blocked. Now once the area is fixed remove the existing weeds by tilling the land with a tiller. Till up to 6 inches depth. Please remove any sharp object which can poke holes in the polythene from this tilled area.

Next thing you need to do is to put some water in that area and make the soil moist. Don’t add too much water so that the soil becomes waterlogged. Water is a very important element in this process. It helps in heat conduction. Avoiding water in solarization, may not give you your desired result.

Cover the area with a clear polythene sheet. Don’t use any colored sheet as it will stop the sunlight to reach the soil. Stretch the polythene tightly and seal it completely. Sealing will help the heat to remain within the desired area and cook the weed seeds, insects, nematodes that can harm your plants. Keep the land in this way for at least 2 months.

After that, remove the polythene. Now the area has been solarized and the weeds, pests, nematodes all have been killed. This will remain weed free for 3 to 4 months. You can plant your desired plant now and enjoy it weed free. Don’t plant before removing the entire polythene because the heat can kill the plant.




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Growing Strawberry: Some Points to Remember

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Today we will discuss some growing tips of one of my favorite fruits: STRAWBERRIES....

Today we will discuss some growing tips of one of my favorite fruits: STRAWBERRIES.


Strawberries required full sun. It is a very tolerant plant and can be found in most of the countries. If your area is very windy make some arrangement to protect the plant from wind.

The unfortunate part of strawberry is that it is quite prone to diseases. So start smart. Buy only certified plants from your nearby nurseries. There are two varieties of strawberries viz. short day types and day neutral types. The first type of strawberry plants produce fruit only when the day is shorter (in the winter till early springs.), whereas day neutral types can produce fruits all year long. They can start bearing fruits as early as in the 3rd month after planting.

The plants are generally planted in the form of runners.

It is always better to use raised garden beds than the direct soil to plant strawberries. You can use the same garden bed for up to three years to grow strawberries provided you have not planted any solanaceae (Tomato, Eggplant) plant there earlier. You need the replace the bed once you see the fruits begin to become smaller (generally after 3rd year). Crop rotation can be a good idea for the same garden bed.

Ideal pH for strawberry plant is around 6.5 to make the strawberry flourish add a good amount of compost to the soil. Plant them in rows with 50 cm apart. Keep close to a meter gap between the rows.  Once the plant starts growing clear away any dead leaves in the plant. Keep a close eye on any aphids or worms in the plant.

Straw is a good choice for mulching purposes in strawberry plant. Once you see the fruits begin to form apply a layer of straw mulch. These have dual benefits. They help retaining the moisture in the soil and also save the fruit from getting the dirt once it is matured.

They are a very good ornamental plant. You can grow them in containers as well. Once the plant start growing bigger, it will extend many runners. It is important to do some pruning. You need to remove most of the runners so that the energy flows directly to the plant and will result in good quality fruits. You can find more on pruning in this article.

Apart from the delicious taste eating strawberries are also good nutrient wise. Strawberries are rich in vitamin C and potassium. So you can enjoy the fruit and also get those needed vitamins and minerals into your system.


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Why you should grow strawberries in Coir? 

Used Tea in Gardening Use

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Today we will discuss the use of used tea leaves in gardening. We all...

Today we will discuss the use of used tea leaves in gardening. We all love tea. What better it would be if we can use the tea leaves after taking out the liquor from it and use it in garden.

Tea leaves are very rich in organic materials, disposing them like trash is like throwing out valuable natural resource. Adding them in the compost pile will reduce the need of adding other fertilizers.

They are a fantastic source of Nitrogen. After taking out the tea liquor, the remaining leaves can be used as a great source of nitrogen in the compost pile. It can be a good supplement to balance the brown materials (rich in carbon) of the compost pile. To know more about carbon nitrogen balance check out our earlier article on composting ingredients.

You can take out the tea leaves from the tea with a strainer.  Store these along with your kitchen scraps. Once the bucket gets filled dump them into the compost heap and let them decompose.

If you are using tea bags to prepare tea, you can use the bags also as composting ingredient. But while dumping the tea bags, cut them open and take the tea leaves out.  Not all tea bags can decompose. In cases where the bags are made up of nylons, they will not do any help in composting. Some tea bags can be made up of paper or silk they will decompose but the rate will be very different from the leaves. That is why it makes sense to take out the leaves from the bags.

Tea leaves can also be used as mulch. Unlike other kitchen scraps, tea leaves don’t need to be composted before applying as mulch. Tea leaves hold water in large quantity. So don’t apply if your garden soil is damp and your plant requires dryer soil.

Tea leaves also protect the plant from many soil borne diseases. It is a little acidic in nature so mixing with soil will decrease the pH of the soil, and provide ideal growing condition for many plants. Tea leaves are rich potassium (K) and phosphorous (K) apart from Nitrogen (N), which are key elements in plant growth. Tea leaves are beneficial for Mushrooms in particular. Tea leaves mixed with peat moss works wonder for Mushrooms. Apart from Mushrooms tea leaves have also shown good results in rose cultivation.


 
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Growing Okra: Some useful tips

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Okra is also known as ladies finger and Bhindi (in India). The edible part of the plan is the pointed seed pods. The flower of an okra plant resembles hibiscus and can be used as an ornamental plant.

Pods in the plant

Okra is a warm weather crop. A full sunny spot is ideal for the plant. If you are from the cooler region wait till the weather warms up before planting okra. Cold weather can really kill your plant.

While growing okra from the seeds, the first thing you will notice is that the seeds are much bigger than some of the other vegetables and it is easy to handle. Before planting the seed soak them in warm water. You can either sow them directly in the garden soil or you can choose to first grow the seedling indoor and then transplant them into the garden. If you are planning for the second option, use some seedling tray available in the market and use coir or peat moss as the growing medium. Mix a generous amount of compost along with the soil before planting.

The plant can resist drought and heat very well. But inch deep water weekly is ideal for best pod production.

Okra plants generally get large and it also spread its branches. So you need to do some thinning once the plans reach a height of 6”. It is recommended to leave at least 18” to 24” gap between two okra plants. In case the plant don’t get enough space to grow, the production of the pods will greatly suffer.

If you have used compost you don’t need to add any more fertilizer. Okra plants grow very quickly especially once the pods starts coming. The pods can grow with in 3 to 4 days. It appears first on the bases of the plant and goes upwards. A standard sized plant can grow up to 6 to 8 feet.

Freshly harvested Okra

Okra plants have spines. It is not wise to harvest the pods bare hand. They can be scratchy and irritating. Use gloves while harvesting the pods. The best time to harvest is when the pods are 2”-4”. At this time they the tender and tasty. Though sometimes larger sized pods are also tender and can be used as food. The best way to check its tenderness is by snapping off the end tip of the pod. It will not snap in case the pods have become fibrous. Keep picking the pods and there will be a new one in its place.

Like many other vegetables, okra is also best when eaten fresh. You can also store them in refrigerator for a week. Check out vegetable storing tips in this article.

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