gardening – Green Gardens

Did You Know Your Plants Dying Because Of Water.

Watering the plants are the most important that we have to do during taking care of a plant. But many of us who are beginners here don’t know that they have to water the plants( not joking some peoples have asked me does they really have to water their plants). But apart from that many who are regular gardeners also sometime misconcept about watering. They overwater or underwater which results in plants death. So for those of you I have decided to write this, and give you some knowledge about how to water your plants properly.

Myths in Watering:

Water your plants everyday.
Water your plants until it oozes out.
Water in day, not at night.
Don’t water in summer afternoon.
Don’t water over the plants.
Water less in winter.
Use fresh water for the plants.

How to Water My Plant?

In case of watering everyone should be flexible that is you must have to look upon your plants and understand them and water them only when they are required to, not more not less. There are some plants those require a lot of water whereas some could not tolerate a very less water. So it is also necessary to know about the water requirements of the plants. Again according to the situation watering should be changed in hot summers we need to water regularly than in rains or during transplantation there should a sufficient amount of water such that it does not wilt.

Are the Myths Correct?

Some are correct, but all are not. Listening to anyone else without doing a homework about the matter is foolish. I would suggest to know your plant and about your plant and you will be self sufficient about what to do and when.

How to check that a plant need water?

It is really hard for many of us to know whether a plant needs water or not, for this a simple trick is finger dip method. In this method you can dip your finger into the soil up to half a inch and see whether it is wet inside or not then you can easily avoid overwatering or underwatering. This will help you to grow a very good experience about the matter.

How to know you have Overwatered or Underwatered your plants?

Both overwatering or underwatering for a long period is deadly for the plant. So the first thing to do is to regularly check the soil. A wet soil is dark in colour and it must be loose and clayey. But on the other hand dry soil will be of lighter shade and hard. On the plant you could also see the effect, in overwatering the plant will be rotting specially the leaves and lower part of the shoot. Whereas in case of underwatering plants will firstly wilt, then the leaves will be yellow and shed the leaves and the shoots will be dried out towards the tip(away from the base). A fact is that in case of overwatering it affects the bottom part of the shoot (radical) whereas the underwatering affects tips of stems.

What are the remedial measures of Over or Underwatering?

For overwatering, first stop watering and keep your plant in place with plenty of sunlight. And if rot has started apply fungicides on and around the rot.

In case of underwatering give it a sufficient amount of water and place it in a moist and cool area away from sunlight for some days.

Bougainvillea: The Beauty of Your Garden

This tropical plant is one of the common and best easy growing bonsai plants which looks tantalizing when it has a full tree bloom. It will just give your garden royal touch. Here underneath you could know everything about your bougainvillea. if you are a beginner this is a jewel and if an expert, there is for you too.

Climate: This plant could thrive well in temperate as well as tropical regions. It blooms at a low temperature so in the temperate region it blooms throughout the year but in the tropical regions it flowers around the winter season.

Temperature: Though this plant is cold loving plant it could grow in a long range of temperatures. About 5 to 45 ⁰C.

Soil: This plant loves an acidic type of soli. But it could not tolerate staged water so the soil must be well drained.

Species: More than 80 species of different colours are there of bougainvillea.

Sunlight: This plant could be grown over a long range of temperature regions so the sunlight requirements are different according to regions. In low temperature regions providing of full sunlight is better but in the high temperature regions providing a partial sunlight prevents wilting. In blooming season, it requires at least 5-8 hours of direct sunlight.

Watering: Water should be provided regularly but overwatering should not be done. During the flowering the watering should be lowered or it flower less and grow more. (except in high temperature region where there is a risk of wilting)

Terrain: Always loosen the soil around the trunk to make the soil airy, whether it is in ground or in a container pot. This also helps preventing water lodging problem in soil.

Pruning: bougainvillea is a hard wood type variety. So, it can be grown as a long tree structure as well as in bonsai form. For long structures pruning is only necessary for keeping the plant in a desired shape. But for bonsai both shoot and root pruning are necessary to control the shape and size of the plant.

This plant mostly requires a hard pruning after every flowering and a little once a month. Moreover, it should be taken care that the main root of the tap root system be pruned before planting in a pot and should be repoted once in 2-3 years according to the size of the pot.

Fertilizer: each and every plant require Nitrogen Phosphorus Potassium to grow and flower and this is also same. Other than this some micronutrients are required from time to time according to the plant conditions. For knowing the basic fertilizer click here.

Other than this sometimes there arises a problem of Growth Retardation for which the best is gibberellic acid which could be found inorganic in market or in water in which cow dung cakes are drowned for at least 7 days.

During repotting a mixture of vermicompost 40%, used tea/coffee leaf 20%, neem cake 20%, bone meal10%, horn meal 5%, egg shell5% could also provide a good result for long time. Here I will recommend to reduce the use of inorganic fertilizers as in the long run it will harm your plants and the unused remaining, by the plant in the soil, will harm the nature.

Pesticides: there is a benefit that this plant seldom attacked by pests and if attacked then it can be easily get rid of by spraying neem oil or providing neem cake in the soil. For Fungus attack you can use any antifungal spray or powder available in the market.

For any further query about your bougainvillea plant comment here.

Mineral Elements Required in Plant Nutrition

The plant require a proportional combination of macronutrients and micronutrients. The utility of these nutrients are discussed below with the sign of deficiency syndromes in a plant. To know how to use click here.

Macronutrients:

Nitrogen (N):

Used in larger quantities than any other mineral nutrient. Most frequently deficient for normal growth of non-legumes

Forms taken up by plants: NO₃^–NH₄⁺

Function in plants:

It is part of the amino acids which make up proteins
It is part of the chlorophyll molecule

Deficiency symptoms:

Plants become stunted and/or become yellow on the older leaves
N is mobile in the plant so new leaves may remain green
Excess N may delay maturity
Cause excess growth and little fruiting on melons and tomatoes. Excessive succulence may make a plant more susceptible to disease or insect attack.

Phosphorus (P):

Forms taken up by plants: H₂PO₄^–primary orthophosphate, H₂PO₄^— secondary orthophosphate

Function in plants:

a part of the protein molecule
Necessary for transfer of energy during metabolic processes (ATP)
Hastens maturity, promotes good root development, improves growth and cold tolerance, and improves seedling vigour, important in seed and fruit formation.

Deficiency symptoms:

Dark green colour
Purple cast in corn, lower leaves first because p is mobile.
Delay in maturity
Failure of seed to form

Potassium (K):

It is used in larger amounts than any other element except N. May have “luxury consumption” plants take up more than is needed. K is not a part of any structural component of the plant. Located in the cell sap as an inorganic salt.

Forms taken up by plants: K+

Function in plants:

It is a catalyst in many reactions; carbohydrate, starch and N metabolism
Activation of enzymes involved in photosynthesis, and protein and carbohydrate metabolism
Adjustment of stomatal movement and water relations
Helps disease resistance
Increases quality of fruits and vegetables
Tips and margins of leaves turn brown. K is mobile so this occurs first on lower leaves.

Deficiency symptoms:

Weakening of straw in grain crops (lodging)
K is important in preventing non-protein N from accumulating in plants. When this occurs in forages it may be injurious to animals

Micronutrients:

Calcium (Ca):

Forms taken up by plants: Ca++

Function in plants:

Calcium gives strength to cell walls
Needed for peg development in peanuts
Plant root and tip elongation

Deficiency symptoms:

Ca is immobile so new growth is affected
Failure of terminal buds to develop
Symptoms are not usually seen under field conditions because other problems caused by acidity of soil will generally become limiting factors before Ca. That is, liming prevents Ca deficiency from occurring.
Blossom end rot of tomatoes is an exception to this generalization

Magnesium (Mg):

Forms taken up by plants: Mg++

Function in plants:

A part of the chlorophyll molecule, essential in photosynthesis
Related to phosphorus metabolism
Large quantities found in seed

Deficiency symptoms:

Mg is mobile so symptoms occur first in old leaves.
Interveinal chlorosis. A whitish or yellowish striping effect on grasses.
Tobacco – referred to as sand drowning.

Sulphur(S):

Forms taken up by plants: sulphate some SO4-2 (Sulphur dioxide through leaves).

Function in plants:

A constituent of 3 of the 21 amino acids which form protein cystine, cysteine, and methionine
Present in the organic compounds that give the characteristic odours of onion, garlic, and mustard.

Deficiency symptoms:

Uniformly chlorate plants which are stunted and spindly. Similar to N deficiency symptoms. It is less mobile than N so deficiency may be more apparent on younger leaves.

Manganese (Mn):

Forms taken up by plants: Mn++, Mn+++

Function in plants:

Can be absorbed through the leaves. Required in small quantities – large amounts are toxic (acid soils)
Activation of enzyme systems
Chlorophyll synthesis

Deficiency symptoms:

Mn is immobile – The upper leaves develop yellow streaks.

Iron (Fe):

Forms taken up by plants: Fe++ (ferrous form) Fe+++ (ferric form), Can be taken up by the leaves

Function in plants:

A catalyst in the production of chlorophyll
Enzyme systems
Occur on high ph soils or certain plants
Centipede, azaleas.

Deficiency symptoms:

Immobile so deficiency symptoms occur on young leaves. Interveinal chlorosis. Leaves may turn completely white

Copper (Cu):

Forms taken up by plants: Cu+2 can be absorbed through leaves. Very toxic if too much applied.

Function in plants:

Copper is a catalyst in chlorophyll formation

Deficiency symptoms:

Immobile so upper leaves affected
Corn youngest leaves are yellow and stunted
Vegetables – plants wilt and develop a bluish green cast.

Zinc (Zn):

Forms taken up by plants: Zn+++ can be taken up through leaves. Toxic except in small quantities

Function in plants:

Activator of enzyme systems
Deficiency symptoms:
Occurs on younger leaves (immobile)
Interveinal chlorosis followed by reduction in rate of shoot growth and shortening of internodes (rosetting)

Boron (B):

Forms taken up by plants: H3BO3 can be taken up through leaves

Function in plants:

Can be very toxic if applied to some crops at rates not harmful to others. Deficiency occurs frequently on alfalfa.
Germination of pollen grains and growth of pollen tubes

Deficiency symptoms:

Immobile upper leaves affected. Growth of terminal bud stops

Molybdenum (Mo):

Forms taken up by plants: Mo required in smallest amounts of any mineral nutrient. Excess may be toxic to grazing animals. Moo4

Function in plants:

It is needed for conversion of NO3- to NH4+ in the plant
Required by rhizobia for N fixation in the nodules of legumes

Deficiency symptoms:

Interveinal chlorosis
With legumes it appears as N deficiency (that’s what it is

Chloride (Cl):

Forms taken up by plants: Cl-

Function in plants:

Photosynthetic reactions
Reduced root growth in nutrient cultures.

Deficiency symptoms:

Excessive quantities has a detrimental effect on quality of potatoes and tobacco storage quality of potatoes reduced. Smoking quality of tobacco lowered.

Silicon:

Needed in small quantities by rhizobia for fixation of N in association with legumes. 8 oz/acre on clover gave response essential in formation of vitamin B-12.

Shown to be essential for a green algae

Not shown to be essential for higher plants but growth increases were shown with asparagus, rice, lettuce, barley, corn.

Functions: may be essential for carbohydrate metabolism in some plants. May substitute for potassium

Increased growth of rice in nutrient cultures. Function unknown.

In short we see:

N – Synthesis of proteins and part of chlorophyll molecule

P – Energy transfer

K – Carbohydrate metabolism, water relations

Mg – Chlorophyll molecule

S – Proteins

Ca – Strength of cell wall

Micronutrients – Enzyme activation

Hope you will benefit from this for any query comment here. And Follow to stay updated about new tips for your garden.

Temporary Kitchen Garden Beds

In today’s world of extreme pollution everyone is trying to make a small garden to feel the touch of nature. And in this context there’s a special mention of inflation which has made kitchen gardening a popular one.

Many people have now stared utilizing their backyard or their garden to evolve it into a small kitchen garden. Those who don’t have such places are even making temporary garden beds.

Nowadays peoples have also started terrace farming and vertical farming which maybe a related idea for kitchen gardens.

What could be grown?

There are a large variety of plants that could be grown in garden beds, most common are pumpkin, eggplant, carrots, radish, beans, onion etc. anyone could also grow a variety of seasonal flowers in the temporary beds. Moreover some medicinal herbs could also be grown.

How to preparing a garden bed:

Kitchen garden beds are mainly for small lifespan plants and hence are temporary in use. For this reason it should be provided with high level of organic manures or nutrition to get a good outcome, even in the long term.

Soil: For preparing soil for kitchen gardens you should use organic ingredients. Firstly if you have a bed on ground then take out some soil and put some kitchen wastes in it and cover it up. If you have a bed made as an elevated temporary garden bed then apply a layer of soil then add a layer of kitchen waste and then add another layer of soil on it. And for soil it is better to use compost, vermicompost or cow dung manure.

Fertilizers: The use of inorganic fertilizers will have a quick result. But this will not be the best for you, your plants and causes fertility loss. So the best thing will be to go organic. A plant mainly require nitrogen as its macronutrient along with potassium, phosphorus, carbon and also magnesium, zinc, iron in small amounts as micro nutrients. And any one could make an organic mix by decomposing kitchen waste in a jar or drum, and use the liquid as a fertilizer.

Pesticides: In case of garden beds pesticides are generally required and for this neem cake mixed with soil is best. One most important problem is ants. For this you may apply any type of ant repellent that doesn’t harm your plants.

Precautions: As they are basically small in size the watering must be done in a regular way but never overwater. Refresh the soil with lime and add new nutrients, before every growing seasons.

So let’s grow a small piece of garden in a temporary bed this summer and comment under to know more. And Follow GreenGardens to stay updated about new tips for your garden.

Kitchen Garden: Utmost Importance In Today’s Life

Today we all are living in a hybrid world of ever increasing technology and population. And this directly or indirectly reducing our standard of livings. Hereby I want to draw the attention only on food products.

As an environmentalist and nature lover we like to think about our earth. But because of the pressure of increasing population and desire to earn more profit farmers have increased the use of inorganic fertilizers and pesticides are add-on to increase the production. This reduces the fertility of soil which results in many natural disasters like soil erosion, landslide, floods and even climate change. But how many are following them or more prominently how many can afford them as increment of profit is possible from quantity not quality.

Many peoples like to include vegetables in their diet, but most of us are fond of junk foods. Apart from that I would like to ask, are we noticing the quality of the food and obviously its origin? The answer will be no for the max and yes for few.

When we visit a supermarket of bargain in a local market we overlook the quality and buy those food products only because of misleading packaging and promotions. And most of the things we eat comes from a far off overseas where welfare and environmental laws are mostly non-existent.

How to produce?

Yes it’s a good question, it will help us to grow public awareness to connect them to the root of the Earth. A sustainable and good farming landscape needs to do many things. It needs to feed us all affordably, to keep soil healthy, to provide micro-habitats and even protect what is left of precious habitats such as grasslands, rivers, wetlands and woodland. If a farming landscape does all this well already, then it is perhaps enough for us to talk about it being “sustainable”.

For this reason we need to ask for “regenerative” agriculture, which means boosting soil health and encouraging biodiversity by working with natural processes as we grow food. The best process in it is the Permaculture. It also become helpful if there is a use of grazing animals in “mixed” farming systems. Livestock, if well managed, repair soil, trample or eat crop residues and waste, provide fertiliser and control weeds.

So what could be the solution for us?

Solution is also lying amongst us. Here we are in need of self-sufficiency i.e. we need to produce our own food as much as it is possible. And for that we need to have a garden or at least a kitchen garden. There we can grow a variety of vegetables and in different season. Moreover we can get a relive from the harmful effects of pesticides and inorganic fertilizers.

On the other hand many of us are unable to have a garden because of time or lack of place. Then we should remember that we are the consumer and the goods you buy are based on your demands. For the next time if when you buy food products try to check its production details or ask the seller about it. If you don’t get a satisfactory result then obviously it will have harmful effects. So the best is to order directly from the farmers who cultivate in sustainable way or in permaculture form and they mostly do home delivery too.

The whole world is in crisis, and to support yourself financially it you can make a garden for your own.

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Organic Gardening —

Organic Gardening —

Organic gardening was the only way of gardening before chemicals and pesticides arrived to ‘help’ our crops along. Unfortunately there are side effects to many of the chemical products – in fact there are side effects with most of them, although some less harmful than others.

Organic gardening was the way of the past and hopefully it will be the way of the future, as we learn more about the damage we are causing to our environment.

Organic fruit and vegetables can be more expensive than un-organic produce, and it pays therefore to be producing our own food as much as we possibly can. Unless you have a large area of land, including polytunnels and greenhouses, and perhaps an army of gardeners to do a lot of the work for you, it’s unlikely you will be able to grow the variety of fruit and veg you are used to buying.

However, there are many different fruits, vegetables, herbs and even edible flowers we can grow in an average sized garden, and in a few hours every week, organic food can be included in the diet for all the family, however addicted to burgers, fries and chocolate buttons they are!…

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Organic Gardening —

Top 38 Indoor Plants could be grown easily

In the world of growing technological developments many of us are aware of ever increasing pollution. And some of them have involved them in various works to reduce outdoor pollution. But we should now look up at the indoors too. There are various pollutants that are being formed at houses. In that case indoor plants are most effective.

Most of us thinks that indoor plants are too difficult to grow and a lot of care is to be provided to them. But you will be surprised that these are too easy to grow and could be grown by those also who get a very less time to care about the plants. The only thing you need to do is to choose the correct plant. Plants those are under mentioned can be grown easily. For knowing how to grow these plants easily, see my another article Grow Indoor Plants Easily.

Peace Lily
Snake Plant (Mother in Law’s Tongue)
Lucky Bamboo
Bamboo palm
Chinese Evergreen
Jade Plant
English Ivy
Dragon Tree
Rubber Plant
Aloe Vera
Philodendron
Philodendron Birkin
Geranium
Money Plant
African Violet
Begonia

ZZ Plant
Crown of Thorns
Bromeliad
Kalanchoe
Air Plant
Spider Plant
Table Palm
Christmas Caclus
Ponytail Palm
Dieffenbachia
Cast Iron Plant
Asparagus Fern
Fiddle Leaf Fig
Schefflera
Pleomate
Calathea
Guiana Chestnut
Yucca
Peperomia
Phalaenopsis Orchid
Anthurium
Aralia

For more information about the plants comment here.