When planting a Rose bush drop a banana in the hole first.Roses need potassium for strong roots.

I have a bush but no berries,added coffee grounds and guess what, berries.The bush needed acidic soil.

any suggestions for a new plot of land I have recently cleared for a garden.
it is approx 2 x 3 metres (60 sqft approx) it gets afternoon sun as it is sided by a 12 ft tall hedge.
We were thinking of flowers but even a veggie garden would be good. Any suggestions would be appreciated and if anyone wants to see a pic of the plot I can take and send also.

Thanks for that tip on rose bushes Foxy. I am planning to plant some!

make cages out of wooden steaks.. build them 42" high.. and 21"-24" wide..

You will need 4 steaks cut to 42", and 8 pieces cut to 21-24".. nail first steak to supporting steak at the top of long steak.. nail the second supporting steak about 18" down..
This gives plenty of room to place wooden cage at least 6" into ground..

It also will hold up longer and will give the Toms more support.

MMmm steak..it's been too long, I haven't had one since I came to Korea... Did you mean
'stakes', Scarlet? :)

You can also plant summer squash aka crookneck squash or yellow squash, bell peppers also love the sun. Any pepper for that matter, will do very well in the sun. You can plant okra, the list goes on and on. Oh, a tip about tomatoes, though. If you don't want more than you can eat, just plant a bush or two, because they are a very generous fruit bearer.

I also have another tip. It has to do with house plants, though. If you are like me, and love having plants, but forget to water them on occasion, here's a very simple thing to do. Take a 20 ounce plastic soda bottle, poke holes in the bottom and sides of it, place on your potted plant, fill it up with water, and viola! You have an instant irrigation system for your houseplant. Just refill when all the water has emptied out of the bottle.

I just started to grow one and it's taken off quite well.A relative of mine has a huge one with a picnic table under it.Great for lots of shade and very cooling.

Thats a good idea but i water on the same day every week so i don't forget.Like every Sunday,now it's a habit.

not to mention JAM! yum:)

Of course Jam if the kids don't get them first.

If ya want good land to plant be sure to mulch and use compost.We have clay soil and it took us 3 yrs to get the soil to work for us.Clay is very hard soil so this year my husband dug it all out and added topsoil.Needless to say i'm happy with that.

my grandma had 4 rows of grapevines,and she always made jelly(with the ones grandpa didnt use for wine!) she had a great kid deterent...it was called a switch! LOL:)

yeah we do have very clayish soil here.
I have heaps of bags of mushroom manure that I am ready to mulch in prior to planting.
Got this plot with no ideas yet though LOL

consider hemp..loww maintenace and great rope:)

rofl
too much of that up here in vancouver
every 2nd house is a damn growop

having gardened for 30 years...you learn one or two thngs.
select your plants based on your needs.then observe the amount of sunlight your garden area recieves.then on the selected plants...see what type of soil requirements there are,and sunlight requirements.If your unsure of the soil..take a sample in to your local land mgmt office...here in the states we have the dept of agriculture.
this save a tremendous amount of backbreaking work.
be sure your garden has good drainage,as rainy seasons can rot everything,and I strongly reccomen NOT waterering your garden.it will own you.a simple quick hoe,threw the rows in the morning hours,will trap dew and prevent weed growth.Mother nature will take care of th rest...with the exception of long dry spells. good luck:)

Yes Redsales.. must have just been waking up when I posted.. Thanks for spotting my error. haha.. Night

What is Mushroom Manure?

I'll have steak with greens Scarlete.lol

I think it is manure that they used to grow mushrooms in?
The said it was good to prep into dryish soil so I bought a whole pile of it.

You can mix veggies and flowers together. Certain flowers even attract beneficial insects. Of course if you spray a lot of chemicals you will just kill them. You might want to try organic gardening and avoid the chemicals with that lovely baby who will soon be following you around out in your garden :)

I never spray my garden with anything.I have a six yr old thats always in the garden.
Plant garlic thru out the garden that helps also.

Go around your home and clean the hair from your brushes and combs,put them in stockings like knee highs and tie it.Place around the garden the critters will smell HUMAN and stay away.

I also heard that using the citrus juices like oj and grapefruit juice will keep the cats out of your garden as well.. Take some juices and sprinkle it around the boundaries of your garden.. or even put the rinds around the garden..

Thanks but have to give the hubby credit for that one.

approx 6ft x 9 ft...would be able to grow about 1 dozen tomato plants, or 12 - 18 cabbages, or 3 rows of carrots, parsnips etc. Probable about 12-15 lettuces...it is a very small plot, but with very small amounts of each you could grow all of the above.

I have a 1/2 acre so that is why i say the above is small...you have to make the most of what you have :)

I have 2 tomato plants planted in another area and just the two are giving us ample fruit. I love tomatoes but arghhhh, any more than 2 and I would be all tomatoed out.

The inlaws arrived yesterday to stay indefinately and they have taken over the gardening. Its great!!!!!!!!!!!
They can do whatever they want and I'll love it. I think it makes them feel useful, which is true, we appreciate it, and they also need something to do since they are retired.
Step right up, everyone's a winner in this one !!!!

Before i had my garden dug i used big pots and pails to grow tomatoes.lol.....but it sure worked.Great when you don't have a yard and can put them on your porch.
I grow fresh herbs all winter in a flower box my husband made me.

i too grow fresh herbs in large pots...handy to the back door, all except the mint, which grows throughout the lawn...what a lovely smell when you mow:)

At the moment i have rocket, beans, tomatoes, herbs, bananas, passionfruit(purple and yellow) grapes, and pawpaws:)
Not a great lot but it all helps us to save money :)

I too have mint all thru my yard,i love the smell
when the lawn is mowed.

Anyone know anything about this plant.I have a plant thats dropping it's leaves like crazy.Checked for little critters but have none.I read up on it and tried whats recommended but no luck.

too much water by any chance? they do like to be fairly dry...not desperate but not wet..any mulch around the trunk/stem...take it away about 4-6 inches...it might be struggling to live and avoiding stemrot ..

From what i read they like partial sun and misting every day.I got alot of new leaves sprouting.
Can't dig it up it's in a huge pot in my house lol

Could it be it's been in the pot to long and is now pot bound?

if it is sprouting new leaves....could it just be that it is getting rid of the old and preparing for the new???

Skip no i re-potted it months ago.It did flower so i'm not sure whats wrong.I can't put it outside not where i live.

Bernice i'm still gonna baby it and see what happens.My sister has two huge bushes in her yard and she lives in Fla.One gets to much sun and doesn't flower,the other gets partial sun and blooms all the time.My hubby may take it into one of our flower shops to check it out.You should see the pot it's in it's huge.

Here we go again i can't get rid of the little green worms.Any ideas anybody?

sevin dust

Thanks bwildman i'll have my hubby try that.

can i ask.....:)
do you have a gardener?....if so sack him, if not
try derris dust..well that is here in aussie, and you do not water roses from above...always from the root....causes black spot. but then if you over water the roots you can get root rot...this al depends on your temperatures, himidity etc....where (approx) do you live?

Foxy do you have a circular trench around the trunk.. about what.. 4-5 inches from the plant?? I usually dig one out with my hand and place water into it.. :)

yes Scarlet :)...a watering trench around the base is a good idea :)

I never heard of a watering trench around Roses or Gardenias......My Gardenia is at the florist to see whats going on with it.
Rosebush got dug up..........
Bernice i'm in Central NY very harsh winters we have.

ah ha...central NY...well then i should shut mouth ROFLMBO....I havent seen snow in abut 30 years, and really wouldnt know how to garden in that sort of weather :(
Im living in the tropics of australia and everythings is like TOPSY....it just grows :)

It was 48 here this morning.lol

and place them around and cover as much as you can.. That should help protect them and insulate them as much as possible.. in the spring.. cut the limbs back on the bushes (rose), it will spark new growth..