Gardening, successful gardening, seems a mystery to many. Especially those just starting out. Like with a first home. Or, those trying to get back into Gardening.
I assure you there are no mysteries. In fact, with the 5 things I'll share with you in the next few minutes, you will not only be a better gardener, but you will have enough knowledge to actually troubleshoot many of the ailments, or opportunities, you find in your landscape, lawns, or vegetable gardens.
These Are The 5 Things You
Need To Know To Be A Better Gardener.
1. How Plants Work
Plants are born from a seed. It sprouts and forms a tap root. A stem emerges, followed by a set of immature leaves on a single stem. To survive, your plant needs the warmth and energy that shines down from the sun. That tap root is developing a network of roots to form an expanding root ball. When you transplant a seedling in the soil that maze of roots develops bigger, thicker roots. On these roots are tiny, delicate root hairs. These hairs take on nutrients and water in the form of vapor whose molecules are tiny enough to be absorbed by the hairs. These nutrients and water travel up the stems to the leaves as the water moves from one plant cell to the next. Cells filled to the brim give most plants rigid enough to keep the structure upright.
The nutrients bring with them the materials necessary to duplicate the plant cells into longer, thicker stems and more and larger leaves. Eventually, special cells will be produced which become flower buds, and then seeds as the plant fulfills its only destiny . . .
to reproduce itself in the circle of life. It wasn’t until people began to appreciate the taste and nutrition for the resulting fruits and seeds that gardening became common place around to world.
2. Energy From The Sun
Moisture and nutrients in the plant are not enough. The plant needs energy to fully develop. This energy comes from sunlight. In most cases LOTS of sunlight. The energy is converted by the plant using carbon dioxide in the atmosphere in a process called photosynthesis. In this process the plant makes its own food in the form of carbohydrates ( starches) stored in the plant tissues, with high concentrations in the roots. Making its own food is what sustains plants in the wild.
When I begin coaching someone with their gardening, the first thing
I always ask is “ where will the sun be at 4:00 o’clock in August? Why? Because that is the hottest time of the day ( in the Northern Hemisphere). Now they have a benchmark. That side of the house is most likely facing southwesterly. They will choose flowers, shrubs and trees that prosper in full ( many places HOT ) sun ( 6 hours ) in the afternoon. Full Sun plants will likely be the bigger, stronger, most productive of the plants you could bring home to your garden. Those that need less sun to grow and flower will be lighter in weight, have more tender plant tissue, and fewer, less dramatic flower shows. Sunflowers vs. hostas is a perfect example.
BAMBOO is among the most successful plants in the
plant kingdom. It grows incredibly fast. Some giant varieties
a foot a day.It’s roots quickly spread, chocking out any competition.
It’s tall growth structure keeps moving the leaves closer
to the sun and produces stems (canes) so amazingly
light and sturdy they are used as temporary scaffolds
around buildings being constructed in countries
where bamboo grows best . . . and biggest.
3. Soil Conditioning
That seed, or seedling, you brought home will be planted or transplanted in the native dirt, or in a container (pot) filled with a soil mixture. Soil has two main functions. A place for the root to take hold, a reservoir for water vapor, a home for the soil bacteria that will produce gas vapor both combined to deliver water and nutrients to your plants.
Many, too many, folks I have coached are plagued with poor, hard, lifeless dirt. Some call it “hardpan”. Others call it clay; and some call it %&$@$# ! In my region it's an ancient volcanic mud flow, that in summer is as hard as concrete.
Two things will bring success to your native soil.
If you plant in the ground, AMEND the soil. Dig a hole. Mix an organic amendment with the native soil. 50% native with 50% amendment if possible. But, before you even take the plant out of the pot it came in, the second thing you need to do is conduct a “perc test” to prove to yourself that the hole you have dug will DRAIN as water percolates from the hole.Then, and only then, should you place the plant in the hole that has been proofed for percolation (drainage)!
To act as a good host, your soil will need to permit air, in the form of gases, to move freely through the root ball. When you added the amendments the minute spaces between soil particles allows these gases to raise through the root ball.
Your amended soil will now be the perfect place for beneficial microorganisms to begin their colonization between the grains of sand and pieces of organic matter. The “village” inhabited by the microorganisms will grow. It will attract earthworms and other tiny creatures, who will in their turn, add to the fertility of your soil.
Well tilled, fertile soil will ensure plant roots will get what they want
most . . . room to grow ( lots of room ) without struggling.
4. Correct Watering
Unless you are growing rocks, everything in your soil - plants, bacteria, microbes, earthworms must have WATER. But, it must be the right amount of water for the plant(s) in question. Too much water is usually a bad thing because that air movement needed in the soil is blocked. If blocked too long, the plant will begin to drown in a growing mass of mutual decay and the plant's system will collapse.
Watering, like nutrition, is another component of successful gardening that can be managed. After the perc test, apply only enough water to completely moisten the soil in the root zone. A moisture meter helps you to test for moisture applied by a hose, sprinkler or drip system. Or even, and this is my favorite, a soaker hose. If it is a container and you see water coming out the bottom, STOP. You will just be wasting water and washing out nutrients. If your landscaped bed or lawn shows signs of “runoff”, reexamine the amount of water being delivered, for how long, and at what intervals.
5. Fertilize Your Plants
When I ask those I coach what they are feeding their plants, they invariably answer “ water ? “. None of us could have raised our kids on a diet of water. Wild plants have adapted to their surroundings and produce their own nutrients. Horticultural plants generally need some form of nutritional supplement to maximize their potential in greening, flowering, and fruiting.
Plants we have come to favor are not grown in their native conditions. So we supplement their diet with compounds we call fertilizers. Most, not all, fertilizers are formulated by combining three elements, Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium. They are known best by their Table of Elements codings N-P-K. Nitrogen helps make the plant green. Phosphorus helps make the roots perform. Potassium is support the plants overall health. Fertilizer packaging will have the N-P-K formula printed on the label. The most often quoted formula is 10-10-10. 10% by weight. Because all three are present and the values are all 10 such a fertilizer would be considered COMPLETE and BALANCE. After that, most fertilizers are divided into Synthetic and Organic. Synthetic fertilizers are usually petroleum based. Organic based fertilizers are made by combining organic materials, from chicken feathers to bat
poop and a lot in between.
Fertilizers are divided into Synthetic and Organic types. Synthetic fertilizers are usually manmade, chemical compounds. Synthetic fertilizers are packaged as either a granular or flaked composition. Many of these synthesized fertilizers are combined with inert materials enabling a slow release of the N-P-K .
Organic based fertilizers are made by combining "natural" organic materials, from chicken feathers to bat poop, and a lot in between.
Many of these natural materials are derived from composting. Because they are not supercharged like synthetics, Organic fertilizers tend to have lower N-P-K values. But that's OK. I have found confidence in using organic ferilizers more often without fear of over fertilizing and possibly burning my plants. If you wish to go organic in feeding your plants, I strongly suggest you checkout the
complete line of Kellogg ORGANIC PLUS specialty fertilizers. I have found the rewards from their use to be substantial.
BOTTOM LINE? Plants in their native environment pretty much take care of their nutritive needs. Hybridized Plants you bring home will benefit from a regular, light feeding of a"general" fertilizer or "specialty" fertilizer, synthetic or organic . . . whichever you select.