Thursday, 3 February 2011

CONCRETE TO HEAVEN

As a lover of  nature and beautiful flowers living in a terrace house with a concrete yard, is: well frustrating especially when the only scenery is the brick wall of the house opposite.


A concrete yard is well low maintenance but dull and boring, you could put flowers in pots these will add colour and height and  brighten it up, but these need constant watering and dead heading. You could turf it but then you would need a mower to cut it and then what do you do with the clippings.


With a little imagination and some time, you can have your little bit of Eden all to yourself. Right ok the hard bit get rid of the concrete next check the soil is good  add fertiliser to give it a boost. Next lay down a weed suppressing membrane, this will ensure your not on your hands and knees for half the summer instead of admiring your creation. Now for spring there is nothing to beat bulbs Daffodils crocus tulips snowdrops anything you like the look of really,  these will give an early rainbow of colour. Alright you may have to cut the tops off them once they’ve finished flowering but the colourful carpet makes it worth while. Now spread coloured pebbles slate chippings or coloured glass is now easily obtainable, this should be at least one inch thick .


Then choose some individual plants that add form and structure, these could be roses(but then these will need dead heading and pruning) so shrubs may be a better choice .


Potentilla,  Azalia, Forsythia and Spiraea are good summer ones  Witch hazel, Winter jasmine  and Viburnum make a good winter display  but don’t go over board a few well placed plants look better than an over crowded plot.


Try a lavender near to your gate or doorway the perfume is exhilarating first thing.

Sunday, 9 January 2011

How to Grow Cucumbers the Easy Way

Crunch, crunch, crunch, excuse me, this is the sound of me
munching a cucumber just plucked from the vine, fresh cucumbers
from the garden are hard to beat! I think cucumbers are the second
most popular vegetable in the garden right behind tomatoes.
My favorite way to grow my cucumbers is in a raised bed system.
Not just any old system but a cinder block garden. This garden
system requires no hammer, nails or wood. It uses cinder blocks for
the walls. Inside the blocks I use a special soil mix that feeds the
plants all season without any extra fertilizers. This system uses 1/4
the space of a conventional row garden. It requires 1/4 the time and
water to grow the same amount of food as a conventional row
garden.
Why do it the hard way when cucumbers can be grown so easily and
care free in a cinder block garden?
I plant six cucumber hills for my family of five people. There are
three for pickle making and the other three are for fresh eating. This
is plenty of cucumbers for us and the chickens. If there are only one
or two people at your house, still plant two cucumber plants.
Unknown things happen to cucumber plants. If your plant dies and
you only have one you are out of luck.
I can get approximately 32 pounds of cucumbers from a 40 inch by
40 inch bed. I grow the cucumbers up on a trellis to save garden
space and also the trellis keeps the vines drier and that in turn
prevents most diseases. http://bit.ly/gZw31V