The temperature for indoor plants should be on average 75 degrees during the daylight hours and 60 to 65 degrees at night.  This temperature range will vary but this is the most common.  Indoor plants don’t like drafts and    placing them in a sunny window is not always a good spot for them, if you do place them there rotate them every day or so, so that all sides receive sunlight.  Plants experience different temperature changes when you have them in a window; they get sun by day but suffer the cold from the window at night.

During the winter most homes tend to be drier than normal and many plants aren’t tolerant to the extra dryness. With the exception of the “African Violet” most plants can take a good misting on the driest days of winter, otherwise use a damp cloth or sponge to wipe their leaves every week or two; this is also an easy way to remove dust build up on them.  Use a potting soil that is specifically for houseplants, it will generally be well draining, correctly blended and balanced with the right amount of nutrients and acid Ph levels.  Since potting soil looses minerals over a period of time, re-potting or replacing  the top layer of soil every few years is a good idea.

Because they grow slower, indoor plants need less fertilization, so when you fertilize use a balanced slow released fertilizer for indoor plants and then only fertilize every two or three weeks. Learn something about your houseplants before you purchase them, the small plant stakes stuck inside the pot is a good source for the information, it will tell you how and when to water and what and how much to feed in most cases.

Most plants love a good soaking, so apply water to the plant to the point that it drains out of the bottom openings, this will also get rid of any excess fertilizer.  Let the soil become almost dry before watering again.  If at all possible use distilled water to water your plants with; many people don’t realize that regular tap water sometimes contains excess salt and chlorine.  If you must use tap water let the water set out for a few days and the extra chlorine will dissipate, and then generously water plants.

[tags]Houseplant Care]

Early planning of your garden will help in the overall planting for next year and with a diagram you can prevent damage to plants that are still dormant before you begin preparing the soil in the spring.   It is a good idea to make a few notes as to what was where and what did best in certain areas of the garden.  This will help you to determine whether or not you should change the location of some of your garden flowers and vegetables.

Any plants that did not fare well can be placed somewhere else when you start planting.   Write reminders to yourself as to which vegetables did not do well and over the winter months you will have the opportunity to bone up on your reading and see what can be done to improve your gardening skills as well as your crop.

Adding organic composts such as manure and soil amendments such as dried blood and bone meal to your garden soil now, will give the soil time to absorb all their healthy ingredients and have it rich with nutrients when you begin to plant next spring.  Topping off the soil with mulch or compost and allowing it to over-winter will also aid in next year’s garden planning.

If you plant spring bulbs, now is the time, plan out an array of colors, sizes and varieties of daffodils, tulips, crocus and other early blooming flowers for a garden of beautiful color when spring comes.

Spring and summer gardening plans are easy when you have all winter to sit and imagine how you want your garden to look.

[tags] Garden Planning]

Knowing that the N= represents the amount of nitrogen and that nitrogen promotes a good healthy growth of the plants foliage. P= represents the amounts of phosphorus which will aid stimulate and promote good root growth while K= represents the potassium levels for the cell functions and a healthy plant.

Sometime cooler weather will make plants seem dead or dormant when they are not, their roots are only growing and then is a good time to fertilize with a high phosphorus fertilizer to help assure yourself that your plants will have a strong root system next spring.

When there is an early frost in the fall this helps plants to produce higher levels of amino acids which will help them to resist freezing and making them hardier when the winter temperatures drop.  As you start your fall fertilization remember that different plants have different needs such as perennials, your spring bulbs and your roses.

Perennials love a high phosphate fertilizer with  a low nitrogen content and fertilizing with this type will give you an lovely array of blossoms at blooming time.  In September or October plant your spring bulbs such as tulips and daffodils and feed them with a phosphorus fertilizer at the root level to help get them established before the winter sets in.

As I plant I like to add a little compost as food while being sure to plant with the tips up and in a manner that the hole is at least 4 times the height of the bulb.  Now is not a good time to fertilize roses, they should be fertilized before the winter set completely in and cut back after they have gone dormant for the winter.

Fertilizing in the fall only promotes and encourages new growth or simply cut them back and feed them well in the spring when new foliage begins to appear.  After fertilizing with a granular time released fertilizer and raking it good into the ground it is a good idea to apply a layer of mulch, then water well allowing it to soak into the ground.  A good fall fertilization of your garden will definitely pay off when next spring finally arrives.

[tags] Fall Gardening Tips]

Knowing how to spot the worm and treat the plants will be imperative if your garden become infested with them.  Identifying it may be hard because it may and can vary in color.  Hornworms are very fat and plump worms and are usually Bright Green in color which makes them easy to blend into the color of the vegetables leaves and foliage.  Some worms may be an off brown, grey or even black in color, but whatever their color the tomato hornworm will have a horn protruding out from its rear end, hence giving it its name.

The worms horn itself may be black or red but it can also be white or grey. This variety of tomato worm can grow very large, up to 5 inches or more in length.  It will have diagonal criss-crossed stripe over its body that is white or grey in color, this type of worm will literally damage a small portion or a very large surface of your vegetable garden by chewing the leaves of the plants.

Another sure sign that your garden is under attack is when you begin to see piles of black dropping on the leaves  causing them to lean downward and also look on the ground around the plants for the same droppings.  Hornworms can cause severe damage in a very short period of time.  These worms come from the eggs laid by a very large grey and brown moth that has yellow markings.

These moths lay their eggs on the underside of the leaves of plants in the spring.  As they drop off into the soil they begin to pupate and when they emerge they are full grown adult moths and the cycle begins again.  At the very first signs of the infestation.   I like to dust my plants with Sevin or other carbaryl or pyrethin that contains an insecticide.  You need to follow the manufacturer’s instructions carefully.  A good bacterial insecticide containing bacillus thuringeiensis will be extremely useful in combating and containing a hornworm infestation. As with any insecticide, always follow the manufacturer’s suggestion on use.

[tags]  Garden Tomato Pests]

One of the most common knows diseases to tomatoes are called “Early Blight”.  When a plant is infected with early blight its leaves will have small circles and spheres in the middle and dark spots on the older leaves while the leaves surrounding them will begin to turn yellow.  Early blight not only affects the foliage but the stems and fruit as well.  The disease can be transferred from new transplants, and since it is soil born, it can over-winter in your garden from residue of the previous year.

Another form of foliage disease is also blight, this one is called “Late Blight” which also affects the leaves and fruit of the tomato and it spreads very fast. If you suspect that your tomatoes have late blight, look for greasy irregular shaped gray spots on the leaves with a white mold if the weather is or has been extremely wet. The spots will turn paper-like and dry with blackened areas appearing on the stems. If you think the blight has attacked your fruit, look for large greasy irregular shaped spots as a symptom, this is what will distinguish it from “Buckeye Rot“, another type of tomato disease.

The third tomato disease to look for is called “Gray Leaf Spot” which affects only the leaves of the tomatoes.  It will usually begin with the older leaves and they will have small dark spots in both sides of the leaves and they will grow larger then begin turning a grayish-brown as the center of the spots start to crack and fall out while  the leaves on surrounding plants will turn yellow, dry up and drop off. Gray leaf spot will also inhibit the plants fruit production.

“Septoria Leaf Spot” is often mistaken for late blight because it also attacks the older leaves first.  Leaves infected with this common tomato disease will have paper-like patches which will later develop tiny dark specks inside. “Southern Blight” will have a white mold at the stem near the soil line accompanied with round spots on the inner and outer stems that eventually become discolored.  Once this fungus takes hold on the stems it prevents the plants from absorbing much needed water and nutrients.  Small newly planted plants if infected will simply die at the soil line.

The last disease that can literally ruin your garden is called”Verticillium Wilt”. The leaves will often turn yellow, dry up and seem to wilt.  This is another soil born fungus that affects not only tomatoes but a variety of vegetables.  The plants will literally wilt during the hottest part of the day and only seem better at night only to begin to turn yellow then brown in the leaf veins.  The older leaves will be show signs of this first, then the lower leaves will develop a discoloration inside the stems. This type of disease will inhibit the plants ability to absorb water and nutrients also which will eventually kill the plant.

If symptoms of any of theses diseases start to appear on your plants either a copper or a sulfur spray can be used to prevent its further development, but know which disease your plant has first.  As for management of these fungi it is best to buy disease resistant plants, rotate you crop, and when you fertilize try and use a fertilizer that contains ammonium and or calcium and in the fall remove all remains of an infected plants and any other garden debri. Remember also that some diseases are soil born so also  remember to watch your plants carefully when the weather is consistently and extremely wet, wet weather stresses many plants and warm humid weather will worsen many fungus problems.  Before you use any fungicide spray, always read and carefully follow the manufacturer’s suggestions.
[tags]  Common Tomato Foliage Diseases]

The days to harvest depends upon the variety of tomato and of course the climate that you live in is an important factor. Very small types of tomatoes such as the cherry and grape tomato will usually mature and be ready for harvest in as little as 45 days, while other varieties generally take up to 90 days to reach maturity and begin to ripen.

If you like getting an early jump on your garden, its never to early, especially if you are starting from seeds.  If you choose to start your tomatoes from seeds, remember not to plant them to close together, it will inhibit their growth.  Make sure that they have room to branch out and when they start to get their first  leaves, transplant them into pots as soon as possible.

Keep the young seedlings in plenty of direct sunlight if possible, if not, then the use of Grow Lights for a minimum of 14 hours per day will do just as well.  Tomatoes love a breeze, so an oscillating fan turned on low for about 5 to 10 minutes a day will give them the breeze the need. The swaying will help them to develop strong stems and remember they are still small so a gentle breeze is all they need.

After the danger of a late frost has passed and you have readied your garden for planting, then its time to take them outside to be transplanted into your garden.  Be sure that the ground temperature is warm because tomatoes love heat and the ground needs have a certain degree of warmth.  As you plant them, plant them deep and put your tomato cages around your plants then to allow them to grow up into the cage and when they have reached about 3 feet tall, remove the bottom leaves. The  bottom leaves get the least amount of sunlight and they usually pick up fungus problems and soil born diseases.

Water your plants regularly, especially when they are developing, you will need to gently pinch the suckers off (tiny stems that develop between two branches), because they don’t produce any fruit but they will take energy away from a thriving plant.  As your fruit begins to develop, thin the leaves of your plants to allow sunlight to reach the tomatoes as they begin ripening.  Harvest your tomatoes when they are fully colored and just beginning to soften, and with just a slight tug they will pull easily from the vine.

[tags]  Planting Tomatoes]

Plants that are diseased or infected should have been pruned back in the fall and should never be used in your compost bins or piles.  Leaving the old growth as a marker for the new growth  as it starts to appear on your perennials will help you to determine exactly where to start pruning back on plants that emerge later in the  spring season.

Depending on what does or does not work best for you depend primarily on what you have or had planted.  Many perennials are better off when left alone and not pruned at all until spring when the new growth starts to appear.

If your garden has woody perennial flowers and plants such as Artemisia or Lavender, these types of plants will need to be cut back each spring because they will only bloom on new branches. A good spring pruning will limit the damage of the plant from the winter and will also encourage the flowering of new branches.  Always wait until the danger of a late frost has passed before you begin any type of pruning on any plant.

As your plants start to come out, fertilize them with a slow releasing fertilizer after you have pruned them, this will help develop new growth.  Adding a new fresh layer of mulch to them will also cut down on the growth of new weeds.  In early summer remember to prune them back after the first flowering to encourage more blooms.

[tags]  Pruning Perennial Plants for Spring]

It will soon be our favorite time of the year once again, Time To Garden.  Keep watching because in  the next few days and I am going to be posting articles which will  have some wonderful new ideas to help make your  flower gardens come Alive with Beauty and your vegetable gardens Burst with Flavor.  There is also an upcoming article for all those junior gardeners who will be growing some colorful vegetables to enjoy this season.

Keep watching and reading:

Ms. Eudora

These plants are best started in the fall of the year and kept indoors in a bright sunny window.  To begin the plant you will need to cut off the top of a whole pineapple and remove any excess fruit and skin from around the leaves.  The top should then be place in a small bowl of water with ¼ teaspoon of Epson salt, being sure to keep the water level from 1/8 to ¼ of an inch above the bottom of the leaves then place the bowl in a sunny window for about two weeks adding more water as it is needed.

As the roots begin to appear transplant into a pot filled with a sandy mix of well draining potting soil is best for the new plant.  As the plant starts to develop new roots and grow, keep the soil moist, but not soaking wet.  While you plant is growing and the new leaves appear out of the center of the plant remove the old died out leaves to give the plant more air and light. Once the plant has established itself allow the soil to dry out a little between watering.

As you water remember to water from the top including the leaves and keep it in a bright sunny window all winter, in the spring it can be brought outside in a container or planted right into your garden after the danger of the last frost has passed.

Pineapples have a long growing cycle and after your plant has matured, it can be forced to bloom by placing it into a dark heavy plastic bag with some apples or other fruit for a few days, but you won’t know if this trick worked  or not for a few months though  and then only when your bloom appears.

[tags]   How To Grow A Pineapple Plant/tags]