Gardening

How To: Style an old yamadori bonsai

The previous owner chose this view. The trunk is naturally hollow. Dead wood is coming toward us. Branches are coming to the back so we will have to do some manipulation. The two parts of deadwood play together in an interesting dance. The piece of deadwood can be improved and the branches can be moved more to this side of the tree as a front. This is what we'll go with. (Using various tools, the bark is removed from the left side deadwood). Height has been added to the branches. Lots of torn...

How To: Transplant Papaya Trees

Papaya trees are very vulnerable to transplantation shock. Seedlings tend to recover slowly and poorly after replanting in a new location under a sunny sky. Many internet articles advise that papaya trees should be transplanted without injury to their root systems. Keeping the root systems intact is next to impossible if the papaya seedlings are too close to each other. However, you would be surprised to learn how a papaya tree with serverely broken root systems can survive a transplantation ...

How To: Tie up your ornamental grasses for the winter

Dave explains how to tie up ornamental grasses to prepare them for winter and ensure they add interest to the winter garden. Make your ornamental grasses the focal point of your winter garden with the tips from this video.

How To: Grow lavender provence in a container

We know that spring seems ions away, but if you're a gardener then it's time to begin thinking about what flowers you'll be planting to bloom during the spring. If you don't have much garden space but would love a very fragrant bloom, check out this video to learn how to grow lavendr provence in a container.

HowTo: Grow Psychadelic Roses

Admittedly rainbow dyed roses are pretty tacky, but the idea of "mutation" is cool. And the HowTo behind it seems simple enough. Pick Chur explains:

How To: Grow strawberries easily in a container

In this tutorial, we learn how to grow strawberries easily in a container. First, you will need your refrigerated bare root strawberries laid out in front of you. Next, prepare your soil by using a high quality potting mix and adding 1/3 compost to the mixture. Take your soil and place it into a plastic bin, then add in some water. Mix the water with a trowel, then place your soil into a strawberry jar up to the first row of pockets. Next, plant your strawberries into the pockets on the side ...

How To: Plant potatoes yourself

Interested in planting potatoes? Start a self-sustaining garden full of veggies you can take from your garden, straight to your dinner plate. Plant potatoes 8 inches apart and about 4 inches deep. When the plants grow about 6 to 8 inches tall, start to hill up the sides. Learn more about how to plant potatoes yourself from this video presented by Homestead Acres.

How To: Plant strawberries as ground cover

GardenGirltv shows viewers how to plant strawberries as a ground cover! With a strawberry patch or field you will have to always continually plant strawberries! The plants will last a few years and every year you should add new plants to your areas for each year. First, you need to get a bundle of strawberry plants you need to rake the area you are planting them in. Make sure you put each plant 18 inches apart. First, you should take your strawberry plant dig a trench, lay it flat and cover i...

How To: Prune a Bramley apple tree

The Bramley is a large, heavy-cropping cooking apple popular for baking, making apple sauce and other apple dishes. In this two-part how-to series, Stephen Hayes of Fruitwise Heritage Apples demonstrates how to properly prune a Bramley apple tree and other apple trees with a similar habit of growth. Watch this instructional video to learn how to prune your own triploid and tip-bearing trees.

How To: Grow Your Own Sweet Potatoes Year Round

Sweet potatoes are a popular side dish, especially around the holidays. Save some money and start growing sweet potatoes at home. Not only will they be cheaper, but you'll be able to enjoy them year-round.

How To: Distinguish different types of bulbs

In this tutorial, Scott Atkinson shows us how to identify different types of bulbs. Common types of bulbs are: tulip, daffodil and lily. These are most easily identified but there are many that appear in flowers. A core looks similar to a bulb but it is a solid tissue and doesn't have an leaves, just a hard core with a protective covering. There is also tubers which are what potatoes and other foods grow from. These cause eyes to form and create different types of things to grow. You will now...

How To: Get Rid of Plant-Eating Pests Using 100% Natural Solutions from Your Home and Garden

Navigating through row after row of plants, my tiny fingers would reach into the leaves to pluck all the vile little creatures from their homes and deposit them into a can of gasoline. Potato bug duty, my least favorite gardening chore. Growing up, my family had a small garden every year. And every year, I was recruited to help plant, maintain, and eventually harvest the vegetables from it. There were some tasks I didn't mind, but the ones I hated most usually involved bugs (have you ever see...

How To: Save Your Tomatoes From Rats And Rot

Every summer my husband and I plant a tomato plant. We do this to enjoy the plump red tomatoes right off of the vine.

How To: Disbud dahlias by the Dahlia Guy

The Dahlia Guy is going to explain the importance of disbudding dahlias. He explains that when you disbud a dahlia it allows the main flower to blossom to its fullest potential. When you don't disbud, the other buds that grow out of the flower can stunt the growth of the main flower. Now, when you disbud you want to locate the main flower of the group (3 buds usually, sometimes 2) and then just pull out the buds that are growing next to it. There is no true right or wrong way to disbud so any...

How To: Make chestnut paling

Learn how to make chestnut paling using a paling machine from Aly May in simple steps. First tie the strings up and down in a wooden pole according to the length you need. Start by placing the wood in between the strings upside down fitting perfectly. Now roll the machine to twist the strings and repeat the same till you get your desired length. You can also use wood with sharpened edges if you want to make a fence. It can be also used for some events but you have to change its length and dur...

How To: Deal with brown patches on Leylandii hedges

Over the past few years brown patches on leylandii hedges has been a real problem in some areas. These patches are caused by conifer aphids that feed by sucking the sap from the new shoots. In this gardening tutorial, Martin Fish from Garden News shows you how to deal with brown patches on your Leylandii hedges.

News: The Wonder of Plants

Have you seen all the adorable miniature garden ideas? Containers of some sort (wood boxes, planters, drawers, wheel barrows, bird baths…) hold a little scene full of tiny living plants along with little adornments like garden benches, hardscapes and paths. They are absolutely enchanting for all ages and how fun to shop the house and find special little things to decorate your tiny garden whether indoors or out. Not only can you plant real, live tiny plants in your garden. Consider little suc...

How To: Create Japanese Style Landscape

So you've decided to transform your drab backyard into a Japanese Zen garden. You've made the right choice. Yes, tire swings and crab grass can slowly kill the soul. That being said, a bit of planning lies ahead. This article offers a list of How To tips, culled from the Landscape Network and other professional Japanese style landscapers, for planning an effective Japanese style landscape in your home. Step 1: Research.

How To: Choose the Right Water Feature for Your Garden

Adding water features to your garden can help to create an enviroment that more closely resembles nature. The sound of a trickling fountain can make your garden feel more peaceful and relax. Paul Tamate, a leading landscape designer working with water features and Asian-inspired garden designs in San Francisco says, "design spectacular water features as the centerpiece of gardens that serve as retreats from modern life."

How To: Alternative Easter Eggs

How to make eggshell planters. Great fun to do with the Kids this Easter Step 1: Watch This Video Guide

How To: Prune Grape Vines Using the Four-Arm Kniffin System

This how-to will show you easy step-by-step instructions for pruning your grape vines for growing great grapes.

How To: Start Your Own Organic Seedlings Indoors

Starting your own seedlings is a great way to save money, have a wider selection of varieties and gain personal satisfaction. Here are easy to follow tips on getting your seeds off to a great start.

How To: Select Basic Garden Tools and Learn Basic Plant Types

Gardening school is in session and Shirley is teaching the absolute basics, such as: what to wear, what tools to use, what is the difference between an annual, perennial, and biennial? What is a garden zone, and which one is yours? Class is in session, so spit out your gum and listen up. Time to learn Gardening 101.

How To: Feed Your Soil and Read a Fertilizer Label

Don't be intimidated about plant nutrition and how to read those mysterious numbers on fertilizer labels! Watch this funny and memorable video that breaks down the basics of fertilizing and shows you how to feed your plants.

How to Kill a Slug: An Original Music Video

Slugs are the bane of a gardeners existence but they are not going to win this war! Watch this funny, short music video, YES, music video that will have you tapping your toes and memorizing tons of ways to kill a slug! It works!

How To: Fertilize Aquatics

Video: . this video will show you how to make organic fertilizer balls for aquatic gardening.

How To: Easily Prune Larger Branches on Trees

This video will show you how simple it is to prune large branches on trees. Video: .

How To: Catch a Mole Without Killing It

I live in the woods and frequently get moles in my yard. I want to get rid of them, but I don't like killing them. This is a video on how to catch a mole without killing it. It is very humane, and I've caught at least 10 moles this way and can typically catch them in one or two days. I then transport them off to a distant woods where they they can live in peace and not bother anyone.

How To: Hang Dry Herbs

Harvest your herbs Harvest your herbs before they flower (unless you are harvesting chamomile or any other herb flower)

How To: Grow dry beans in your home garden using soup beans

Did you know that you can grow beans in your garden just by buying ordinary packs of soup beans at your local grocery? Once you start growing beans, you can keep growing them for a lifetime--just keep the seeds around. Soon beans will be sprouting in your garden every year!

How To: Create a New Lawn From Turf or Seed

Preparation When creating a new lawn it is essential that the soil is prepared properly to ensure a satisfactory outcome when laying turf or sowing lawn seed. Whether you decide to lay turf or seed, the preparation is the same.

How To: Grow Plants With Compact Fluorescent Lights

I like to grow vegetables all year round, and I couldn't afford the big gas bulbs, or the power to run them. The big gas bulbs:

How To: Improve the Soil to Grow Healthy Plants

Every experienced gardener knows that the secret to better blooms, brilliant greens, and tastier fruits and vegetables is a healthy soil. Improving the soil before you plant is the best head start to growing healthy, hardy growth in your garden.

How To: Make Your Own Whitefly Sticky Trap

This is a cheap and easy way to make a sticky fly trap that can catch tons of whiteflies. Get a can of Tanglefoot’s Tangle-Trap Sticky Coating. I stored this in the greenhouse which may not have been a great idea, as you can see by the amount of rust there is on the can.

How To: Speed Up the Composting Process

Composting is said to be every gardener’s gold, but making compost and getting it ready could take up to a year. Professional growers have discovered that compost activators can help speed up composting quickly…sometimes to as little as 30 days!

How To: Graft a bunch of cherry trees

Want some cherries? Better have some cherry trees. OH! Who cut down the cherry trees!? Guess it's time to get grafting and grow some new trees. This informative video shows how to graft cherry tree stalks onto existing cherry tree trunks. It looks primitive, but this is what you need to do to get some new trees growing! Cut and stick, cut and stick. Water, wait and grow!Watch this video and think of Anton Chekov when you do!

How To: Choose the right grow light for your indoor hydroponic garden

The key to a successful indoor hydroponic garden is in both irrigation and lighting. This video can't help much with the irrigation, but if you want to decide what the best lighting systems are, this video is for you! There are a wide variety of bulbs and power sources that you can choose from when constructing your own hydroponic grow operation. The key is wattage, and the more wattage you can get out of your bulbs, the better your garden will be.

How To: Prune a rose tree (standard)

If you'd like to have a rose tree, or rose 'standard' as opposed to a rose bush, this video will show you what to do. You'll need some pruning shears and of course, a rose bush. This video is really helpful in instructing what to look for when you're trimming, and what branches to take and leave in order to avoid your rose treasure getting a disease. A rose tree by any other name would smell the same, but it would be called a rose standard. FYI.

How To: Build Your Own Strawberry Tower

This article details the step-by-step instructions on how you can make a strawberry tower that can be used for your hydroponics/aquaponics system. The water dripping through the system contains the nutrients, so soil is not used. The growing media is expanded shale, but you could also use expanded clay or gravel.

How To: Get Rid of Stink Bugs Without Using Pesticides

Halyomorpha halys, squash bug, shield bug ... What's in a name? A pest is a pest and the brown marmorated stink bug is a pest par excellence. Though some home gardeners are content to use insecticides, you'll find that it's generally easier to work with nature than against it. And let's face it: trading noxious bugs for noxious chemicals isn't much of a victory. Particularly if you're growing food.