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One use for Vinegar that many people do not know is that it will help fresh cut flowers last longer. So if you have fresh cut flowers in your home or have a cutting garden and use flowers or sell them this is a wonderful tip. Add 2 tablespoons of vinegar and 1 teaspoon sugar for each quart of water. Shake well and change the water every day. Also make sure your vase is clean.

Clay Pots are pretty, add to garden décor themes and have certain benefits over plastic pots. But they can be difficult to clean. If you use vinegar the white salt buildup on old clay pots cleans easily. Simply soak the affected areas in full strength vinegar.

I don’t mind if a clay pot has an old vintage look but you don’t want the pot to be able to harbor disease. Vinegar will disinfect the pot at the same time as it cleans it.

Ants are a pest in gardens, homes, porches and many other areas. Some of these places you do not want to use a strong insect spray, especially if you have pets or small children. Plus, ants are beneficial – in the right areas. Just not in your home or garden areas.

If you spray vinegar around doors, appliances, and along other areas where ants are known to gather the vinegar will keep them away.

Vinegar will help keep cats away from areas you don’t want them. Sprinkle vinegar on any areas where you don’t want the cat walking, sleeping, or scratching. And many people know how much of a pest cats can be in a garden. Just spray around the garden edge to help keep any cats out of the gardens or shrubs.

Undiluted vinegar will kill grass between bricks and sidewalk cracks. This is much more environmentally friendly than premixed weed killers. Simply spray the vinegar on weeds where needed.

Spraying full strength vinegar on weeds will kill them – be careful not to spray it on the surrounding grass, as it will kill that too. If you use a bottle with a fine spray adjustment you can pick out certain weeds to kill and avoid the grass or flowers.

I like using vinegar over strong chemical mixes. It’s not harmful to the soil or other insects. I don’t have to worry about how it may affect the water table, pets or people. And one bottle of vinegar goes a long way so I save money.

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Simple additions of statuary, seating benches and plants common to the Emerald Isle will create an Irish atmosphere.

Use these easy tips to bring an Irish touch to your garden.

Create a stone or gravel walkway around the garden. Some Irish gardens are planted as Gravel gardens are quite popular in Ireland and use shrubs and perennial flowers in the gravel beds. This would be an easy garden area to maintain and would do well in hard to grow area s or as a specialty garden or min garden tucked away in a corner.

Choose vivid green plants with bright flowers. They will show up against the neutral gravel background and add color that stands out in your yard.

Reading benches along walkways or in a nook will add a feel of invitation for reflection or enjoying a book in the garden areas.

And if you are looking for an atmosphere of frivolity, statuary like leprechauns or frog princes can be placed at focal points or just off the walkway on a gravel base.

photo credit: me and the sysop

Plant white clover or shamrock. Clover has a long-standing history in Ireland and has both a factual base and lore that has built up over the years.

Shamrocks have a bulb like seed and are perennials in many areas. They also make excellent houseplants but do need to die back each year and have a quiet spell. If you live in a warmer climate shamrocks look excellent in the outdoor garden areas.

Shamrocks grow year after year. (They may need overwintered indoors in cooler climates.) Clover likes well-drained, moist soil and full sun. It grows by sending out runners. The plants will go dormant in winter and re-emerge in spring. There are white clover and red clover varieties.

If you have room you can add Irish yew as an evergreen tree. Yew can also be grown as a hedge or shaped as topiary. The Irish yew will thrive in well-drained soil and is drought tolerant after it is established. It is suited to heavy pruning so can be shaped for a unique look in your garden.

Other plants suited for an Irish theme garden

1. Lacy ferns
2. Irish moss – excellent groundcover with tiny white flowers in bright green foliage.
3. Holly plants. Holly is considered invasive in some regions so check with your garden center for acceptable holly varieties for your growing area.

An Irish theme gardens will create and relaxing area in your garden and is an easy style of garden to care for. It will also make a great small space garden for a corner or along a wall area.

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So baby your plant when you bring it home.

Your first step when bringing a plant home is to leave the store with it properly wrapped.

• When you leave the store there will be a temperature change so plan for it. If its freezing cold outdoors have the cashier give you one of two bags to totally cover the plant and get it home ASAP. Even a few minutes of below average temperatures will harm a plant and create shock.

• If it’s hot outdoors place the plant in a cool place in the car out of direct sunlight.

Indoor houseplant care tips

Check the plants soil when you get home to determine if it needs water and for a day just put the plant somewhere quiet. Also check the plant over for any insects or parasites. Trim off any damages leaves or broken stems or branches.

I often keep the plant separate from any other plants for a week to makes sure there are small insects on the plants. The last thing I want to do is infest all my other plants.

Next check the plant instructions on a plant tag, in a houseplant book or look it up on-line to make sure you know it’s watering and lighting needs.

Find a new home for your plant in your house and enjoy its beauty.

photo credit: moria

I used to move a lot for my one job. Each time I moved to a new town I bought a plant. It was my new friend in a town where I knew no one. Needless to say, it was not long before moving plants took all my time and space

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In my home houseplants are difficult to grow and I have had many people ask questions so here is a you tube about houseplants and a few varieties that are very hardy. And the plant selections are plants that add color to a home and in the winter that is important.

What I like about the selection of plants they talk about on this video is the selection of plants for high lighting in a room, medium lighting and low lighting.

In NW PA you tend to have more medium to low light in the winter unless you have a sunroom. And many renters and urban home have lower lighting conditions so this you tube and the mist below may help you select medium to low light plants for your home.

Medium light House plants

• Ficus
• Rex Begonias

Low Light House plants

• Philodendrons
• Peperomias

Ferns and pothos are also popular and easy to care for  houseplants for medium low light or low light conditions.

House plants are fun, great for the indoor environment and will keep the indoor gardener somewhat occupied while waiting for better weather.

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photo credit: James Jordan

People are either for or against the use of natural insecticides.  These decisions are often decided by circumstances.  How advanced is the insect infestation?  What are you allergic to?  What will harm your plants?  What will be safe to use around your children pets or livestock?  What is available and accessible to you and how fast can you get it?  Do you need to use more than one method of control and removal? And with today’s economy, what is cost effective?

To get the most benefit from natural insecticides, you’ll need to understand the best way to use them.  What will work best for the type of insect you’re trying to control? But even with natural mixes you need to be careful what you mix.  Certain combinations of substances are unsafe or toxic.

One of the biggest benefits of a natural insecticide is that it comes from nature in some form.  That doesn’t mean it’s problem-free.  It just means you’re benefiting the environment by using a safer product that is not full of toxic chemicals.

An example is liquid garlic. Garlic is a natural plant that is grown around the world.  It can be used to keep insects off garden or farm plants. Mix with water and a dash of dish soap and this easy solution will ward off many insects.

Another example is boric acid.  Boric acid is defined as a white crystalline weak acid that contains boron.  Boron is a mineral substance, and minerals are of the earth.

If you use things made with what the earth provides, you benefit and so does the earth, animals and humans.  Natural insecticides are not always the quickest way to solve your insect problem.  And it’s not always less harmful.  That’s why education on your choices is a must.

On-line sites will help you with natural insect mixes and green gardening techniques.  And you will find additional information at your local library or gardening books.

I have used natural insect control for many years. I have noticed the longer I use natural insecticides the less insects I seem to have and the healthier my overall yard is.

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A plot this size, planted with the vegetables below, can feed a family of four for one summer. There will also be a little extra for canning and freezing or giving away.

There are vegetables that may yield more than one crop per season. These are beans, beets, carrots, cabbage, kohlrabi, lettuce, radishes, rutabagas, spinach and turnips. For the plan below, your rows or raised beds should run north and south to take full advantage of the sun.

Garden plan

Make your garden 11 rows of 10 feet each or use 2 to 3 raised beds. Plant the following vegetables:

Tomatoes — 5 plants staked

Zucchini squash — 4 plants or two of zucchini and tow other squash varieties

Peppers — 6 plants

Cabbage

Bush beans

Beets

Carrots

Chard

Lettuce, leaf, Bibb or a mix variety

Radish

Grow marigolds to discourage rabbits and some insect varieties! Geraniums also discourage some insects and any flower adds beauty to a garden.

Leave 2 feet between bush beans, 1/2 foot between bush beans and lettuce, and 1 foot between all of the rest.

This is a simple easy garden plan. As you garden you can add new vegetables, get rid of others and experiment with different styles of gardening.

I started out using rows, went to square foot gardening to make better use of my space,

Note: If this garden is too large for your needs, you do not have to plant all 11 rows. You can also make the rows shorter. You can choose the veggies that you’d like to grow or add more flowers!

Tip: Radishes planted by the base of a squash plant will deter squash bugs. Radishes also mature quickly so only plants a few seeds at a time.

If you’re interested in planting potatoes, tomatoes and potatoes are not ideal companions and need “distance.” I myself plant them in barrels or bushel baskets so that I can just dump the crop at the end of the season for easy harvesting.

And for the beginning gardener. Read the instructions on the back of the seed packet. It will let you know how long the crop takes to mature, proper spacing and it will help you determine if you can grow two crops in a season.

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dinnergarden.org

Garden tips:

1. One common error for beginning gardeners  is planting too much too soon and way more than anybody could eat or want.  Start small and keep it simple.

2. Vegetables love the sun. They require six hours (continuous, if possible) of sunlight each day. Some, like tomatoes, gourds and peppers like more sunlight.

3. Vegetables must have good, loamy, well-drained soil. Most  soil is not perfect for gardening  and needs a helping hand. Check with your local nursery or county extension office about soil testing, soil types, and soil enrichment.

4. Vegetables need proper nutrition. A vegetable garden too near a tree will lose its nutrients to the tree’s root system and a garden close to the house will help to discourage wild animals from nibbling away your potential harvest.

5. Vegetables need at least one inch of water a week.

6. In the early spring, walk around your property to see where the snow melts first and where the sun shines at least 6 hours a day.

7. Also check for drainage. If  water piles up in shallow pockets, you may want to avoid this area. This will be a good location. This will make a difference in how well your vegetables grow.

photo credit: Sandy Austin

The Gardener’s Rake seed contest winners

Carl, Cynthia, Noell, kitty, Drina, Rita, nfmgirl. You will receive an email tomorow asking for your home delivery address for your prize

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You can check your possible spring through fall season at the Farmer’s Almanac. And keep in mind, this is a rough guide that may or may not be accurate. Surprise storms and how close you are to one of the sections borders can affect your growing climate results.

If you live in the Lower Lakes  area the Farmer’s almanac is calling for average snow until march, a warmer than usual April and May, a cooler than normal summer and a warmer September and October. The area will also have below average rainfall.

For me this means I will do my gardens in the greenhouse again. Our summers have been so unpredictable lately that I am beginning to think year round growing is the way to go. It has certain benefits and there are several mini greenhouses or sun rooms that are very reasonable or that you can make by yourself.

As soon as he weather improves and I can figure out how to create you tube and videos I will make a video on how to make a reasonably inexpensive greenhouse.

But until then here are three reasons why year round greenhouse growing has its benefits.

• More control over the climate. You can start plants earlier and grow them later in the season.
• You may have a larger variety of plants you will be able to grow
• Control over small animals like ground hogs and rabbits.

And here are a few concerns.

• Cost of a greenhouse for both the building and and heating.
• Space for the greenhouse
• Learning how to grow under glass

Gardening under glass is quite easy once you make a few adjustments. But overall, the main concern when gardening is to have fun!

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They look wonderful alone or as accents for other perennials and annuals. The Hosta is a perennial that can be divided to create more plants or started from seed.

Hosta seeds are actually very easy to start from seed and an advantage to this is that you can harvest a variety of seeds from many locations. If you see a Hosta plant you like in the fall and it has the long seed stem ask the property owner if it’s ok if you collect some seeds.

To collect seeds wait until the seedpod is turning brown or quite brown. Pick the seed pods and place them on paper towels to dry. Once dry split the pod and collect the seed.

Perennial seeds benefit from a cooling spell. It’s the seeds way of knowing its time to sprout. In nature this occurs with the seasons. If you collect seeds you need to give them a cold treatment in the refrigerator of freezer to create this seasonal change.

When I collect seeds I mark the variety or description of the seeds and place in envelopes once they are dry. Then I place in the refrigerator until I am ready to plant.

Planting Hosta seeds.

I use plastic trays and fill with a potting soil. Place the seeds on top of the soil. If you cover the seeds, just dust the top of the seeds lightly. (I often use peat moss for this.) A Hosta seed does not seem to need to be covered to germinate.

Lightly moisten the soil, place in a semi dark area with moderate heat and ignore. I usually see seedling in a week. Then the seedling start to sprout I move the tray to sunlight. You water these by lightly misting the tray.

In about one month I will transplant the seedling into small peat pots that will dissolve when planted into the ground.

Often times when a plant is this small I will place the plant in a holding bed for a year until it has more size and will not be taken over by small plants and weeds. (A holding bed is a raised bed that is made to hold small or weak plants so that they are protected from animals, weeds, plants, and the lawnmower.)

When your plants are bigger, its time to select their new garden location and get them planted. Or if you have a lot of plants you may want to trade them with friends for other plant varieties.

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Indoor plants help to clean the air in the home, which is even more important with more home being sealed up to prevent heat loss.

This you tube talks about the different sizes and varieties of houseplants and their advantages for the home.

This list of plants covers some of the varieties of indoor plants and their care and needs for lighting in the home

• Eureka Palm
• Spathiphyllum (The Peace Lily)
• Golden Pothos
• Yucca – good for sunny window, needs less water
• Arboracola
• Dieffenbachia
• Austin Fern (hanging plant, good for bathroom)
• Succulents (require little maintenance)

It is said that to purify the home you need a minimum of 1 plant per 100 square feet to clean toxins.

I have a large selection of succulents and ferns in my home. I had never thought about the yucca plant but it is one of my favorite outdoors so we may have to add it indoors too.

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