New to water gardening, and need advice on water lilies…?

A_Ash_A asks: New to water gardening, and need advice on water lilies…?
My husband and I have recently build a water garden in my back yard, which will have koi and water plants in it. I bought a water lily today(one that was potted and already had a flower on it), anyway…on my way home the flower broke off my plant. I want to know if it will grow another flower or if that will be it for the year. Oh, by the way…it’s a hardy native water lily, and I’m in Oklahoma(as far as climate goes). Any advice would be good. Thanks.

The answer voted best is:

Answer by ?
i think that would be it for the year.until next good luck with your water garden.

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How often should I water seeds in a vegetable garden?

Deans asks: How often should I water seeds in a vegetable garden?
A few weeks ago I planted some green bean seeds in a small raised bed vegetable garden. Only 2 seeds sprouted out of 2 decent size rows. I am a novice gardener and went by the advice of the employee at a local garden center to mix in some mushroom compost into my top soil…and that was it. I was told that I wouldn’t need to water much…so I didn’t. I don’t know what could have inhibited the seeds from sprouting. Perhaps they weren’t good seeds? Maybe my soil was too dry? It seemed to drain well when I watered…but also appeared to have a dry crackly surface…could the soil have not been prepared enough?

I went back to the garden center and bought some organic compost…they said it would drain better because it was more leafy. I reworked all of the soil, even digging up my tomato and pepper plants…setting them aside, and reworking that soil. After replanting them…along with my new green bean seeds…I watered them really well. Should I continue to water my seeds good until they sprout? Or should I just water occasionally? I could really use some tips on how to make it do as good as it can. I am so new at this. (it gets a lot of sun)

The answer voted best is:

Answer by Kung Fu Panda
twice a day.morning and at night.until you see germination

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germination

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Grow a Beautiful Garden the Water Wise Way

Grow a Beautiful Garden the Water Wise Way

Grow a beautiful garden the water wise way

Saving water and enjoying the beauty and environmental benefits of plants are not only possible, but easy says the American Association of Nurserymen (AAN). “Water Wise” gardening is built on some basic, commonsense principles:

Planning a water wise garden or landscape is as easy and fun-as planning any type of garden. Talk to the professionals at your local center/landscape firm to see which plants will do well in your area. You may be surprised to find that some very beautiful, colorful plants are low on water consumption-and they may fit into your landscape perfectly.

Group together plants that require the same amount of water. Plant trees and shrubs to provide shade to cool buildings, air conditioning units, patios, decks, and other landscape features.  Shelter container plants by moving them to shady areas. Spike or aerate lawns to insure maximum water penetration. Control weeds which compete with useful plants for water.

Soil improvement is another easy and beneficial step in building a water wise garden. Soil that is well prepared at the time of planting influences the plant’s initial development and yields the best results. And plants placed in the proper soil will be healthier, often needing less water.

Soil characteristics include texture, structure, depth, and nutrients. To find out more about your soil content, test your soil with the following garden products: Accugrow Soil Test Kit or the Sunleaves Three-Way Meter.  

Efficient irrigation is a critical part of water wise gardening. Your irrigation system can be simple, such as a hand-held hose, or elaborate, such as an in-ground sprinkler system. Consider a drip water conservation system, which can save up to 60% of water used by sprinkler irrigation. Whatever you choose, make sure you plan your watering to get best results.

Deep, infrequent watering, promotes root growth and is the wisest use of water and encourages strong rooting. This provides greater tolerance to dry spells.  Water early in the day, and on less windy days, to reduce evaporation loss. The ideal time is from dawn to 9:00 a.m.   Turn off sprinklers before water is wasted as runoff into gutters and streets.

Mulching is always a benefit to your garden and can help prevent soil erosion and evaporation, conserving the water that is available and keeping your plants healthy and strong.

Maintaining your water wise garden means learning how to water all over again. You may find that watering less means having more time to sit back and enjoy your garden. Generally, plants should be watered less often and for a long period of time. Drip, soaker, or deep root watering promotes healthy plants and less water use.

Follow these handy watering tips from AAN, and you’ll soon be started on your own environmentally sound garden or landscape.  For garden products mentioned in this article, please visit http://www.spray-n-growgardening.com

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Is irrigation water ok to use on a vegetable garden?

vegasmel asks: Is irrigation water ok to use on a vegetable garden?
We have culinary water for our house and secondary (irrigation) water for our sprinkler system in our lawn. We recently installed a spigot next to our garden that feeds off the irrigation water, sprinkler system. We thought it would be cheaper to use the irrigation water on the garden because we water so much, but now I’ve heard that irrigation water can be hazardous to use on vegetable that we will be eating. Is this true?

The answer voted best is:

Answer by physics guy
Only if you are near a major fertilizer maker or other dangerous chemical manufacturer. Such as pesticides, etc. Irrigation water is excellent for watering gardens, but I would recommend having at least tested two years in a row for dangerous chemicals. If it turns up clean two years in a row, it’s a pretty safe bet you are o.k.

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Is it safe to water a vegetable garden with menstrual blood?

Sharon asks: Is it safe to water a vegetable garden with menstrual blood?
I use cloth pads and soak them in a bucket of cold water when I’m done. Is it safe to use this water on my vegetable garden? I’ve heard it makes a great fertilizer.
Edit: Wow, I can tell most of you can’t read. I didnt say I’ve been doing it it, I asked if it was safe. Very closed minded people.

The answer voted best is:

Answer by Tess
0.o

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Are We Being Efficient Enough With The Use Of Water In Our Gardens?

Are We Being Efficient Enough With The Use Of Water In Our Gardens?

Water has always been an essential and defining element of our landscapes and gardens. It’s a symbol of wealth and power, personified in the great European houses of le Notre’s Versailles and Vaux le Vicomte and the great English parks such as Lord Carlisle’s heroic Castle Howard. It’s an expression of the art of garden design seen in the 20th Century modernism of Thomas Church in California and Louis Barragan in Brazil. And it’s a defining feature of architecture that so often sets a building in the context of the landscape. Aesthetically water creates reflection; it often calms the spirit but can also create dramatic force and vitality. It brings stillness and movement, cooling and focus to a space. It is essential to the life of a garden, for plants and wildlife.

But for much of the past 100 years we have taken the availability of a ready supply of water for granted, particularly in the western world where we have become increasingly detached from where our resources come from. This is particularly true of the supply of fresh water and food. In our gardens we have had a ready supply of water with only moderate climatic changes that cause a little discomfort. Why worry about a brown lawn when there is a ready supply of irrigated water to keep it green? Indeed we have become so complacent about water that the ‘water feature’ has become a derided element of the contemporary garden.

In modern times our relationship with water, as individuals, communities and nations, is changing quite dramatically. We are quite rapidly moving from an emphasis on the aesthetic nature of water to a concentration on the practical power of water. Biodiversity has become a watchword in the future battle to save the planet from the destructive way in which we live our lives. Crucially it has been identified that the five major ecosystems; forest, coastal, agricultural, grassland and fresh water are all seriously threatened and leading thinkers and bodies believe that the single issue of water will increase the likelihood of global conflict between countries. Water demand in the majority of European cities is now exceeding the rate at which it can be replenished. Major cities such as Mexico City, Bangkok, Manila and Shanghai are all reported to be at potential risk of major supply challenges and it has been predicted that by 2025 two out of every three people on the planet will live in water-stressed areas.

Most importantly we are starting to understand this on an individual level because we are experiencing the impacts of climate change on our own lives. In the past 10 years climate change is characterised for most of us by extreme weather. As a garden designer with offices in the UK, Mediterranean and the Caribbean I am experiencing these rapid, diverse changes in weather and water supply everywhere. In the UK we have moved from a drought in 2006 where hosepipes were banned in the south of England to one of the wettest winters on record in 2007. At the same time we are battling to establish plants and trees in Cyprus because there has been no rain for 12 months. And in the Caribbean, we are experiencing increased hurricane activity and sporadic rainfall.

Regionally we are experiencing extremes of flooding and drought within very short periods of time where one year we are banned from using hosepipes and cleaning cars and the next we are experiencing the destruction of homes and property from flood waters. It is this impact on our lives that has started to change our view of water as a limitless supply that arrives at the turn of the tap.

If we are going to take individual responsibility then the place to start is in our homes and gardens. Essentially this means catchment and conservation. Harnessing the water we have and then conserving and using this water in the most efficient ways.

We are only just starting to recognise the need to harness water in our homes. Whilst water companies struggle to replace worn out pipes we are preserving our own supplies by storing rainwater in systems as simple as water butts supplied from downpipes and as sophisticated as large underground filter systems. Commercially the latter has been going on for many years but it only now that a combination of lower costs, awareness and planning directives are causing us to install large storage systems within residential gardens. Ten years ago a client of mine, a water company executive, installed a 1,000 cubic metre tank beneath his lawn and we could not understand his reasoning. Now we get it.

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Of course water catchment is only part of the story. We need to use the water and in most part that stored water has been used for gardens in periods of drought, and where metered, as an alternative to paying for supplies. However, we are increasingly seeing a wider use of that water, not just for plants and lawns but also for secondary uses, taken into the home to flush toilets etc. What this means is that we are being asked to accommodate larger underground tanks within gardens.

In contrast to recent developments in water harnessing we have been aware of using water wisely since the 1970s. Efficient toilet systems are widely used throughout Europe but this alone is too little for today’s challenges. In the garden our most important use of water is for plants, and of course plants are part of the solution to climate change but the use of water for plants is a primary target for the water companies and politicians. Irrigation companies have been fighting a rear guard action for many years as they are often accused of inefficient use of water. As designers we actually find that our clients do not know how to water a plant properly and irrigation systems use water much more wisely than someone with a hosepipe.

The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) in the UK does much to encourage efficient watering. Garden water use is estimated at less than 3% of the annual water consumption of an average household but at peak times as much as 70% of water supplied is used in gardens. Water supply records indicate that peak demand begins in the evening after two weeks without rain in summer. This surge in demand can lead to water companies being forced to deplete groundwater and streams, which can cause serious environmental harm. As the RHS says “The cost of this peak demand has to be born by water users. In the wider interests of the environment and for the use of water in the garden to be acceptable to other water users, gardeners should use mains water as sparingly as they can.” The RHS urges gardeners to make economical use of water by understanding the needs of plants and taking steps to reduce the loss from plants and the soil.

The politics of water within different regions varies widely. In the UK there has been an ongoing debate about hosepipe bans for two years now. Promised reforms have led to a relaxed system but no actual legal framework which leaves planners and gardeners in limbo. More encouragingly garden designers and gardeners are taking the concept of water conservation and use into their own hands and using water wisely. Garden designers in particular are counteracting the lack of water and the cost of water supply by specifying alternative measures within their designs. At a basic level this includes mulching the soil around plants to conserve water in the soil. At a creative level there has been a surge in the design of dry gardens and waterwise planting.

Dry gardens use plants efficiently to reduce, or often remove, the need for artificial irrigation. They rely solely on rainfall and good examples are Mediterranean aromatic gardens. Waterwise planting is a concept that is taking on more importance in the conservation of our water and soil. If you visit a South African garden you will notice much denser planting that encourages stronger root systems and retention of moisture in the soil.

Both of these planting methods are essentially for ornamental plantings. Forest gardening on the other hand has many of the same principles but is a method of planting on different levels from low growing ground cover to tall trees capable of providing a sustainable, low maintenance environment for food production. It is essentially a great source of food, a sustainable method of conserving resources including water and whilst used for centuries in countries such as Indonesia it is relatively new to the western world. In a time when we are all worried about the supply of food it is predicted that this system of gardening will become wider spread.

We should not forget that there is still a place for the aesthetic use of water in our gardens and landscapes. Ponds and water fountains, swimming pools and spas will still have a role to play. And whilst we are swapping the outdoor patio heater for a sweater as a necessary contribution to halting global warming we are not prepared to give up all the pleasures of the garden in the name of climate change. We are, however, changing the way in which we design these elements. Most notably natural ponds and pools have become the latest must have for those wanting the ubiquitous trophy garden. Natural pools harness the power of plants to clean their water without chemicals. In a world where we are more aware of the toxic effect of chemicals we are seeing clients moving towards natural pools in increasing numbers and, in some cases, converting existing pools to natural systems.

Water is essential to life in a garden. We cannot expect to enjoy birds and wildlife in our gardens without it. Our gardens are the largest free wildlife sanctuary we have in many countries, especially crowded countries such as the UK where we are steadily losing space and greenbelt agricultural land provides too few wildlife habitats. We are finding that demand for formal ponds is starting to fall but conversely natural wildlife-friendly ponds are in great demand accompanied by wild, often native plants and local varieties of plants that encourage insects and wildlife.

One area that is still vastly unexploited however is the use of reed bed systems in conjunction with natural ponds and pools. Reed bed systems are designed for the treatment of sewage and polluting wastewater effluents to create recyclable water. A secondary advantage is that they can provide wildlife habitats and natural swimming pools and, using a combination of horizontal and vertical plantings, they look great. They do however, need larger gardens and a challenge for the future will be to see how we can all harness this natural power in our small gardens.

On a global scale the supply of fresh water will define the security of nations. On a local scale the reality for our gardens wherever we are in the world is that there will likely be long-term water shortages. How we cope with these shortages as individuals will be a defining issue. Principally we need a new relationship with water and how we value it. For our gardens we need to harvest, conserve and use efficient systems. As designers we already give good advice on planting effectively to minimize our impact but we now need to take a holistic view of the issues of harvesting not only rainwater but also wastewater and build these into our schemes, creatively and realistically.

Education is key. We need to understand the issues and take personal responsibility. We cannot all afford reed beds and green water systems but we can take small steps by mulching soil, planting drought resistant plants and recycling water. There is a huge opportunity for new homes builders to act on these issues but they are caught between profitability, the limited requirements of planners and the need to provide affordable homes. In many countries there is no long term planning by our politicians and so we are learning how we can help ourselves. That’s where community ties, whether physically in the form of allotments, community gardens and front garden food growing schemes or through shared values where a wider audience can meet via organizations such as the RHS or over the Internet, become important.

We have short memories. My UK clients have forgotten the drought of just 24 months ago because of the wet winter of 6 months ago. Many cannot see the use for the simplest water harvesting methods yet they will be crying out for them when the next dry summer arrives. Meanwhile my Mediterranean clients are worried that their boreholes will dry up.

It can be depressing to feel that we can only ultimately solve this crisis by the will of politicians and global leaders, knowing that their short-term visions will not solve long-term challenges. However, I have faith in the individual, I see the influence of their beliefs everyday in how we design their gardens and support their efforts to create a better solution to future water shortages and climate change. With the support of garden professionals like us we can educate and disseminate the best solutions to make a difference and help solve the water crisis garden by garden.  More information and ideas can be found at www.andrewfishertomlin.com.

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Water Gardening Tips ? The Basic Of Excavation And Installation

Water Gardening Tips ? The Basic Of Excavation And Installation

The first thing that any gardener planning to reconstruct a garden should be aware of, particularly if they are undertaking much of the construction work themselves, is that the whole project should be fun.

If you are planning to employ professional landscapers or builders to do the ‘heavy’ part of your garden construction it is always important to get several estimates for work to be carried out. Professionals are likely to work outside in all weathers but, if you’re doing it yourself, you have the luxury of picking and choosing when to do the work.

Nobody really likes the idea of their garden turning into a building site but, if the job involves a lot of concrete work, such as the building of walls and patios – or even that of the pond itself -then it is probably inevitable.

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Site clearance is, arguably, the most fundamental aspect to garden reconstruction. It may involve simply shouting at the dog to get out of the way, or it might require a degree of demolition, lifting and disposal of slabs and the hiring of the ubiquitous skip (this latter operation can be quite costly, so only hire one when there is a genuine need).

The trees that you want to keep can hardly be called obstacles, but in some ways that is what they are. These would normally include trees over 5m (15ft) high which, unless they are diseased or dangerous, are not worth felling. In addition, be aware of hidden obstacles, such as well-heads, drains and drainage pipes, manhole covers, electric cabling and assorted lumps of concrete hidden just under the soil.

With your plan firmly in hand you, or the landscapers, will need to mark out the site and it is crucial to know exactly where any walls are to be built and paths laid. Even a few inches out in any direction can cause big problems (especially with more intricate designs).

Thin lines of white spray paint can be used to mark bare soil and pegs, and taut string can be employed to indicate heights of walls and eventual paths. A good, old-fashioned spade should be used to mark out shallow trenches for such things as the water feature.

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how much water should I give when gardening a sunflower?

Eric S asks: how much water should I give when gardening a sunflower?
I’m gardening a sunflower for a science fair project
how much water should I give and how often?

The answer voted best is:

Answer by the guru
Just keep the soil as damp as a wrung-out sponge. Water until excess comes out the bottom of the pot. Then empty the pot saucer.

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Making A Water Garden Design

Making A Water Garden Design  

Designing a water garden is fun and easy, it can be created by a person or by a professional landscaping company. A water garden design should factor in the space allowed, the plants desired, and the climate of the area the garden will grow in.

Digging A Hole

Making a water garden in one’s back yard begins by digging a hole in the ground. When planning the dig, gradually slope the sides to allow different plants optimal growing conditions. Some water plants flourish in deeper water and others are suited for shallower water.

Some water garden designs will begin with a shelf for plants that enjoy one foot of water or less and from that point the pond will slope to around eighteen inches and the deepest point over twenty-four inches deep. This will allow for a variety of plants to be grown in one water garden.

Choosing Pots

A water garden design should be planned similarly to a container garden because that is essentially what a water garden is. One difference is the type of pots needed for water gardens, water garden plants will do best if they are fabric pots which allow the water to flow freely around the soil and the roots.

Also even the smallest water plants will need a pot at least ten inches wide to allow the water plants room to grow. Water garden designs should figure places for pots to be placed to allow the particular plant the most sun, water depth, and soil that it needs to be healthy and thrive. Some plants will need the long “window box” type of plastic planters to allow the plant room to grow.

If fabric pots are unavailable or undesired plastic pots will also work well for water garden designs. The pots can be placed on cinder blocks while young to encourage them to grow faster and lowered slowly as the plant matures.

Choosing The Types Of Plants

There are too many beautiful water plants to talk about each in detail; however there are some general buying guidelines to follow when selecting appropriate plants for the region in which one lives. The United States is divided into ten climate zones; these zones are based on the date which there is no longer a risk of frost for that year.

Water plants labelled tropical will only do well in extremely hot conditions; they prefer the very edge of Florida, Texas, and southern California. Most other areas even in the south will not have consistent favourable temperatures for enough of the growing season.

Plants labelled hardy will grow in most areas of the United States except for extreme climates such as Alaska and a few other pockets of the country. Hardy plants are ideal for most peoples water garden designs as there is a large variety of plants that can suit anyone’s taste.

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