It is great to have your flowers bloom indoors when it is in the cold dark days of winter. Beautiful flowering plants can brighten your house and lift your spirits on a cold winter’s day. Some bulbs have a great smelling bloom like hyacinths this can be wonderful to freshen your house as long as you’re not allergic to the smell.

Most spring flowering bulbs can be forced to bloom out of season as long as you follow the correct timing procedures. Some of the more common ones are crocus, daffodils, grape hyacinth, hyacinth, and tulips. Visit BloomingBulb.com for #1 quality Holland flower bulbs… at wholesale prices!

For more information on the process on how to force spring bulbs for Christmas come back for the next episode of forcing bulbs.

In case you missed the last episode Prevent Lawn Damage – Control Grubs in Lawn.

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The problem is as they’re looking for food they’re doing a lot of damage with their digging. Sure the short term fix is to dispose of the pest but another will come and take its place, so you need to implement some long term solutions.

Here are some of those solutions;

Reduce the amount of water you apply to your lawn.
Apply beneficial nematodes to attack the grubs in your lawn.

If the problem is a real bad case of pest digging.
One thing that will help to discourage the pests from digging is to install chicken wire over the grass.
Your lawn will grow through the chicken wire, and and be protected from diggers.
The chicken wire needs to be stapled down with jute net staples.
Raise the mower up a half-inch so if there are any uneven areas in your lawn the blades will not come in contact with the chicken wire.

In case you missed the last episode Planting Bulbs in the Fall For Spring Color.

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The plugs will be cored about 6 inches apart anywhere from 2 to 3 inches deep. This will depend on the type of soil and the moisture content.

Lawn aeration allows air and water to penetrate the soil more easily and provides more oxygen to the roots of your lawn as a result, you will have a healthier turf.

In case you missed the last episode Save Your Garden Seed.

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Seeds are ready to harvest when the flowers fade and the tops get puffy. Beans and other plants with pods are ready to pick when the pods turn brown and dry. You need to leave them on the plant as long as you can to mature and dry. But you don’t want to leave them on so long that the birds and other animals eat the seeds.

To dry beans, carrots, corn, onions, peas, herb seeds and most flowers it is best to just leave them on the plant as long as possible. After you pick the pods or blooms finish out the drying process by spreading the seeds in a single layer on a screen for good ventilation in a dry location. For light weight seeds that might blow away, put the whole bloom into a paper bag. You can catch the seeds as they fall out of the bloom.

It is best to plant the seeds that you saved the following year. Sure you can get away with going the second or third year on some plants but your best germination and your best harvest will come from those seeds you use fairly quickly.

In case you missed the last episode Preparing For Fall Bulb Planting.

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In this episode we’re going to give you a lawn care tip.

As you go into fall your lawn maintenance schedule should change. With the weather getting cooler and the days getting shorter you can overseed your lawn right along with your fall application of fertilizer.

A fall application of fertilizer helps to build the roots stronger to protect your grass during the winter cold.

Make sure you apply water to your grass seed and fertilizer as soon as you put it down. Until your grass seed comes up, you need to make sure it doesn’t dry out. Apply enough water to make this happen, monitor your watering applications closely to prevent over watering.

In case you missed the last episode Conserving Water.

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Garden art can come in many forms and if tastefully done it can add a new dimension to your yard.

People have been recycling their old junk, and using it as garden art for years. You can use anything from an abandoned piece of farm machinery as metal garden art to a washing machine as a raised planter.

Old wooden window frames can be renewed into an art piece by gluing bits of different colored glass and creating a Mosaic, or painting any type of themed picture on the glass itself. As long as you protect them from the weather with polyurethane they will last for years. If the glass is broken use a backing of a piece of plywood and attach your art to it.

Here are a few more ideas and use your imagination to add to this list.

Take your broken down wheelbarrow, set it at a nice angle and fill it with dirt plant flowers in it for a nice planter over along side of an old stump.

You can take an old leather work boot and plant hen and chicks in it for a conversation piece.

Place a pot of flowers where the cane bottom used to be in an old cane bottom kitchen chair.

Use an old copper tea kettle for a planter.

If you missed last weeks episode we talked about growing tomatoes.

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It is best to leave your tomatoes on the vine as long as possible. Vine ripened tomatoes have the best flavor, with lots of extra vitamins and nutrients.

If you are losing the battle with the hungry bugs and birds in your garden and your tomatoes are getting damaged and rotting on the vine then pick them. Put your tomatoes in a paper bag or set them out on the counter to finish ripening on your back porch or in your kitchen window.

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Preparation is important for growing potatoes. In the fall, November to December mix in large amount of compost or bonemeal into the soil and allow it to break down over the winter.

It is important for the compost to decompose. Compost can cause the potatoes to be scabby if the potatoes are maturing in decomposing compost. You want the potatoes to grow in nice loamy soil and allow the roots to feed off of the compost.

Make sure your growing your potatoes in full sun. Rotate your crops don’t allow all of the potatoes to grow in the same area of your garden two years in a row. Also make sure they don’t follow tomatoes. Tomatoes are of the same family and disease can be transmitted from one crop to another.

One week before you’re ready to start planting set your seed potatoes in a well lit area with the temperature between 60 to 70°. This will encourage the seed to start sprouting. It’s the sprouts are white they’re not getting enough light.

The day before you plant cut your seed potatoes with a sharp clean knife into 1 1/2″ to 2″ chunks. Make sure that you have one to two eyes on each piece. If the seed potatoes are small you can use the whole potato.

By allowing the seed to set overnight before planting the wounds will callous over, this help prevent them from rotting in the soil.

The average planting time in the United States is mid-March. This can vary depending on where you’re located. In some areas you can start planting as early as the first of February. The main thing is protect your early plants from frost damage.

Tips for planting potatoes earlier in the season is to lay black plastic on an area you’re going to plant. Cut a crisscross in the plastic and plant the seed six to 8 inches below the surface. This can allow you to harvest up to two weeks earlier.

Potatoes can be planted in a container as long as they have a foot to foot and a half of soil below the plant. You can use potting soil and grow them in a container on your patio.

You can start digging new potatoes at about 60 to 65 days after planting. The mature crop will be ready at approximately 100 days. Use any starter damaged potatoes first, they won’t keep. Allow your potatoes to dry before you put them in storage. Damp potatoes will rot.

I didn’t even get to talk about growing potatoes in straw.

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There are many methods of aerating your lawn. You can purchase a pair of long spiked shoes from your local garden shop or hardware store. Another method of aeration is using a two-pronged waterjet that you would hook to your garden hose and inject water into the soil, while opening holes that would help air to reach the roots.

These are great for small lawns and areas that you can’t get larger equipment into.

In the next episode we will cover solutions for larger lawns.

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If water does not soak into the soil. It will just run off and the grass will die. With the roots being this tight together, they won’t allow air in to help maintain a healthy grass.

Stay tuned for a solution in the next episode.

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