Gardening Tips

The garden season is close to beginning. If you have made a list it’s a good start. Here are some kid friendly garden supplies that should be on every kid gardener’s list.

Garden pruners are like scissors. They are needed to cut branches back and even harvest fruit and produce. There are different sizes from the smallest to larger branch pruners often called shears.

A sturdy strong set of garden pruners is best. You also might want to consider the grip. Have the kids check out the grip before buying to make sure it fits their hands.

A garden rake is a great clean up tool. It can also be great for sifting out rocks in a freshly tilled garden bed.

Not all garden rakes are created alike. You have to find one you like and one that you can grip and use. There are several different types of rakes.

There is a stiff rake, the kind used mostly in the garden. This usually has a horizontal set of teeth that aren’t retractable and flexible. This makes them strong and gives them the ability to be used to scrape the surface of the garden bed to remove rocks and other debris.

A lawn and leaf rake is usually a flexible rake that can be retractable. It is used mainly for cleaning up leaves in the fall.

Sometimes called a shovel, this little dandy of an item makes a child’s gardening experience a little easier. It has a versatile use. It can be used in almost every phase of the garden from transplanting to weeding to harvest time.

A good pair of garden gloves is good for those tough to tackle jobs such as rose handling, thorn bush picking and other jobs that could require covering up the hands in some sort of protection. Certain plants give off chemicals that could be irritating to the skin. These could include, but isn’t limited to, the nightshade family (tomatoes, peppers and potatoes), onions and some herbs. Wearing garden gloves can help protect a child from these irritations.

While some home and garden stores may carry kid sized gloves more likely they only have adult size. But luckily the women’s garden gloves are more likely to carry a smaller size and possibly neutral colors if necessary. Find gloves that fit snugly but do not constrict movement too much. You want the hand to be able to move freely and breath correctly.

You can’t have a garden with the plants, right? You can’t have plants without seeds. Sure, you can buy plants already to transplant. But starting with seeds can be more rewarding and cost efficient. So buy a few seeds and start the garden today.

The right soil make the difference between a mediocre garden harvest and a great harvest. There are many types of soil including germinating mixes to start seeds to top soil. Choosing the right soil can be daunting. Just read the instructions on each type to see what is best for your garden.

While a garden journal isn’t an absolute necessity it can help the kid gardener in future gardening endeavors. A child can put down his or her thoughts on the garden, experiences and even make the garden supply list in the journal. You can either make the garden journal or buy it. Regardless of where you obtain the garden journal it’s a must for long term kid gardeners.

The tool that I am going to tell you about is for using herbicides such as RoundUp. The biggest mistakes that people make when using non-selective herbicides like RoundUp is overspray getting the herbicide on plants that they did not intend to spray, and over applying the product. If you spray to the point of run off, you are applying way too much.

The weed dabber is a tool used for spot treating weeds without getting the herbicide on other plants.

Start by going to your hardware store and buying a piece of 1- 1/2” PVC pipe. You only need a piece 30” long, but they might make you buy a 10′ section. It’s pretty cheap though. You’ll need a plastic PVC cap for one end of the pipe, and on the other end you’ll need an adapter to convert the PVC pipe to a standard pipe thread. You’ll have to let the clerk at the hardware store help you find the best combination of fittings to use. What you need to do is to get the PVC pipe reduced down to a male garden hose type fitting. Hardware stores sell brass fittings that convert standard pipe thread to the same thread used on garden hoses.

Probably what you’ll end up with is an adapter that will convert the 1-1/2” PVC to 3/4” male pipe. Then an adapter to convert the 3/4” male pipe to a male garden house fitting. They also make a cap that you can install on the end of a garden hose, you’ll need one of those. This cap must have a rubber garden hose washer in it so it seals properly.

The PVC fittings have to be glued on so you’ll have to pick up some PVC pipe glue and cleaner. You have to use the cleaner to remove the film and gloss from the PVC pipe and fittings before you glue them. Once you have them cleaned, just apply a coating of glue to both the pipe and the fitting, slide the fitting on and twist it at the same time. Hold the fitting tight for 60 seconds and it will be glued tightly.

Cut a piece of pipe 30” long and glue the pipe cap on one end, and the PVC to pipe thread adapter on the other end. Apply a small amount of pipe dope or Teflon tape to the threads of the adapter, and screw the male garden house fitting onto the adapter. Screw the garden hose cap to the male garden hose fitting.

Now back to the end of the pipe that you glued the pipe cap to. Drill a very small hole right in the middle of the pipe cap. You might have to experiment a little with the size of the hole you need, but make sure you start with a very small hole. I’d start with 1/16”. Cut a piece of regular household sponge in a square about 1-1/2” square. What you are going to do is place this sponge over the small hole you drilled in the pipe cap, and secure it there by covering it with a piece of lightweight screen or mesh cloth. Maybe even a piece of an onion bag. You can secure the mesh to the PVC pipe with a hose clamp, or electrical tape.

Remove the garden hose cap from the other end of the PVC pipe, and fill the pipe with pre-mixed (ready to use) RoundUp. Replace the garden hose cap and you have yourself a weed dabber. The RoundUp will seep out the hole in the end of the pipe cap and be absorbed by the sponge. As long as the garden hose cap is tight the vacuum in the pipe will keep the herbicide from running out too fast. Once the sponge is damp, you can start dabbing weeds. Remember, you only want the weeds damp and not dripping wet. As long as you are leaving some RoundUp on the weeds as you dab them, the herbicide should kill them.

Depending on the temperatures, it could take a week or so before you can see the effects of the herbicide. If the sponge gets too dry you can loosen the cap a little to release the vacuum and more herbicide will be released onto the sponge. Or you can simply turn the tool upside down and that should let some air into the chamber, thus releasing the vacuum. As always, read the label and follow the directions on the herbicide package.

Bird- table or bird feeder is a platform on which food for birds is placed, usually in a garden. Bird feeders offer the best way to turn your own backyard into a mini oasis for the wild birds in your area. They are usually filled with a variety of grains to suit the different species of our feathered friends. The most popular varieties of seeds include millet, safflower, sunflower and thistle.

Apart from satisfying the hunger of birds, bird feeders also provide an excellent ornithological treat. To everyone’s surprise the conglomeration of the rarest species of birds are often witnessed in our very own backyards rather than go miles in search of a bird sanctuary. To capture the essence of bird behavior, modern bird feeders are fitted with web cams. Bird feeders come in different varieties and design depending upon the species of bird they cater to. The most common types are ground feeder, seed tube feeder, humming bird feeder, suet feeder, oriole feeder etc.

Seed feeders are very much popular; they come either with tubes or hoppers. Mainly these feeders are laden with sunflower seeds to attract birds like chickadees, nuthatches, siskins and finches. They usually have a partition to segregate the different types of seeds. A suet feeder comprises of a cage like structure made of metal, coated with plastic. It is this plastic that contains a cake or suet. Suet is basically a bird feed containing animal fat, which prevent the feed from turning rancid and protect it from the adverse effects of moisture. Also they could be hung from windows or any tree tops thus giving us a clear view of the birds in action. These bird feeders attract birds like woodpeckers and flickers.

Unlike the seed feeders Humming bird feeders offer the feed in a liquid form. This usually consists of sugary syrup solution that is particularly preferred by humming birds. To attract the bird, the solution is painted in bright color. But care should be taken while choosing the coloring material, for often birds fall ill to harmful coloring agents.

Oriole feeders are orange in color. They too supply a liquid form of nourishment. They specially cater to new world orioles, a species of birds having a uniquely pointed beak and tongue. Apart from the quality of the feed provided in a feeder, the success of a feeder largely depends on the strategic location on which it is placed, its remote proximity from intruders like squirrels and cats. Squirrels pose a persistent problem for the birds as they tend to carry away the feed to their home, distorting our entire objective of feeding the birds. The best way to deal with them is to build feeders that can withstand the weight of a bird and collapse under any further weight.

In spite of the various advantages it offers to the birds, feeders still do have their own negative impacts on the bird community. The water and feed if not maintained clean would lead to spread of diseases among birds as they come in contact with one another. It also leads to the growth of certain dominant species leading to an ecological imbalance. So go get yourself a bird feeder and experience the vicarious thrill experienced by our avian fellow mates.