How to: Tips for the garden
Digging in the garden is fun. The whole thing is even more fun when your own piece of earth looks really nice after the work is done. When everything blooms fresh and harmonizes, the roses are healthy and the tools do not criss-cross in the shed.
Where can I get inspired for the start of the season?
From April 30 to May 3, 2015, hundreds of thousands of daffodils will be on display at the Daffodil Festival around Schloss Ippenburg in Osnabrück. Information: www.ippenburg.de. The Starnberg Spring Awakening presents on April 18 and 19, 2015 on the banks of the lake a wide range of outdoor and garden art. Information: www.starnberger-fruehlingserwachen.de.
What should I consider when buying planters?
On the drain hole! Without a bucket is only suitable as a planter, as permanently irrigation water accumulates in it - and then rot the roots. There are also pots with pre-punched drainage holes: The recesses on the bottom of the pot are quickly pierced with a cordless screwdriver at home. For large potted plants, which are outdoors all year round, is suitable for frost-resistant terracotta goods. The high weight has the advantage that the plants do not tip over even in strong winds. But to move with it is a pain! Alternative for sheltered places: lightweight, well-made plastic imitations. Also nice - and gentle on the back!
Find the right flowers
Let yourself be tempted by the desire for spring-fresh flower greetings for your home of blooming splendor specimens. Decide rather for those with many buds - this one has more pleasure. After flowering, it's time to go out with you! Meant are the bulbs of tulips, daffodils, etc. They are buried in the garden, where they bloom again next spring.
Handle furniture well
If you want to enjoy wooden furniture for a long time, you should oil it - preferably at the start of the season, with pleasure at the end. If z. For example, do not remove the glass edges with mild soapy water, clean the furniture with neutral soap, plenty of water and a stiff brush (always brush in the direction of the grain), allow to dry and then freshly oil. Teak furniture gets a silver-gray patina over time, but does not affect the stability or durability of the wood. Those who do not like oil with special care products (eg the "TeakBrightener" by Garpa).
Plastic or metal models are a low-maintenance alternative. Plastic is not only super lightweight, but also extremely weatherproof and easy to clean. Sun oil, however, makes it brittle, so wipe it off more often. Metal can get flash rust, just rub with a sponge and stainless steel care. Rattan or Loom furniture is particularly weather-resistant. Tip: If rattan begins to creak, dab some petrolatum on the spots. And garden furniture ideally hibernates indoors or at least protected by a tarpaulin.
Park tool
Where to go with spades, rake and pots when the job is done? Devices for daily use are best hung on a privacy screen or a scale wall under the roof board - this saves space and time. Simple device hooks from the hardware store or wooden hooks (5 pieces 9.80 euros at www.gartenbedarf-versand.de), which are nailed to a wooden strip, provide casual overview. Also pretty: hang coated shopping bags.
For inside, "pocket organizers" are a good alternative: they are attached to the wall or door. With their 84 transparent compartments, they provide space for secateurs, jute tape, seed bags and gloves (9.95 euros, at www.poetschke.de). Who has more space, converts old fruit boxes to shelves. They are placed on the ground or hung on the wall to become treasure boxes for flower seeds, plant plugs and all sorts of beautiful garden utensils.
To "grow" a room
A small greenhouse is something special - and can easily be converted into a small chamber. There you can store garden accessories or travel utensils or even set up a comfortable seating area. The retreat is decorated with plants such as orchids. They especially like to stay in rooms with lots of sun. Larger greenhouses are most suitable, with glass panels (best replaced by insulating glazed panels) and an iron construction.
Reed mats and bubble wrap in a sandwich construction on the walls ensure pleasant temperatures in summer. The greenhouse should have enough ventilation flaps, otherwise it will quickly become too hot and too humid. The warm air can only escape through the roof windows, if at the same time large side windows can be opened. In the winter you should refrain from storing pillows, suitcases or fabrics in it - the things could quickly become clammy and moldy.
How can I stop aphids on the balcony flowers?
A beginning lice invasion is best stopped with your thumb and forefinger. The key is to strip off the large lice mothers before they form their colonies. Gentle sprays e.g. Rapeseed oil-based helps best if used early. In flower boxes or pots, the fight has also been proven with phytosanitary rods (for example, "Lizetan combi" new sticks), which are in the soil, where they release their active ingredient to the roots over a longer period.
Uses systemic products that act on the roots, only for ornamental plants - fruits and vegetables are no longer edible after treatment. If leaves have deformed by sucking the lice, you should completely cut off affected shoot tips.
How do I fertilize my plants properly in pots?
Almost all potting soil is already fertilized. There are even some that contain in addition to a starter fertilizer and long-term fertilizer. Therefore fertilize only when the plants need replenishment. That's the case when older leaves turn yellow. Slow-release fertilizers are convenient: they are stored and work for many weeks. Liquid fertilizer is given every one to two weeks in the irrigation water.
How do my evergreen trees stay in top form?
Well-styled balls and cones made of boxwood, yew, privet or spindle shrub are the green stars on the terrace. Shaping their figures requires some skill. Practitioners with a good sense of freedom venture freehand on the cut, for beginners are ready-made templates from the trade or self-built wire frames helpful. In any case, you should be careful with the scissors, because mistakes are only slowly getting better. Best time for the shape-cutting: a covered day in May. A second cut can be made in the summer, in the boxwood by mid-August, please never later.
Do all summer bulbs have to be stored frost-free in winter?
Not all! Only the tubers or onions of dahlia, Indian flower tube and gladioli must be freed from the potting soil in autumn and stored frost-free, cool and dark. Lilies, Montbretien and the orange-yellow varieties of the alstroemeria are allowed to overwinter in mild patches in pots outside. But they should be packed in a place protected from wind and rain. The soil in the pots must not freeze for days. In freezing weather, it is advisable to put them in the garage.
Are perennials just for the bed?
On the contrary, they are great in pots! Particularly attractive are species with beautiful leaves such as Funkia, Bergenia, Columbine or Purple bell. As permanent guests, it is also worthwhile to have perennials that bloom anew every year, for example Cape fuchsia, Astilbe and sun hat. And sun worshipers such as houseleek and saxifrage who cope with dry phases without weakening.
My roses have black spots - what to do?
If the rose bears star-shaped black spots on the leaves, it has visited the star soot. Unfortunately, it is difficult to get rid of the fungus again. Sprays such as "mushroom-free saprol" prevent the spread, but infested leaves are no longer healthy. Therefore, they must be used at the first sign of the disease.
It is worth choosing roses that are less susceptible, e.g. those who carry the ADR seal. Sensitive roses can be preventively fortified in May with remedies such as "Neudo Vital Rose Mushroom Protection". As the fungus overwinters on the foliage, remove all leaves to avoid new infection.
Which earth is the right one?
That betrays the packaging. Cheap substrates often contain mostly black peat. He collapses quickly, which leads to waterlogging. More expensive, but better are soils with lots of white peat, which are enriched with granules and clay minerals (good for summer flowers). Its stable structure ensures good air circulation, binds water and nutrients. Special soils are adapted to plants with special requirements, e.g. to the pH or the nutrient content. It is also worthwhile to have specialist earths, e.g. in the cultivation of flowers or permanent guests such as rhododendrons or Mediterranean potted plants to buy.
Peat forms in bogs and consists of not or not completely decomposed vegetable substances. Save Moore u.a. Carbon and, like forests, are important for climate protection. Every year millions of cubic meters of horticultural peat are mined, but it would take thousands of years for a moor to compensate for this degradation. So if you want to do something for the environment, you can get information about peat-free alternatives to potting soil via the German Federal Agency for the Environment and Nature Conservation (BUND) at www.bund.net/torffrei.
Proper watering
Pour each time only as much as the bale can absorb. If there is water in the planter, the plant needs no replenishment. If a root ball has dried out extremely, allow the plant to dip in a bucket of water - if there are no more bubbles, the soil is soaked. On hot days, it pays to water once or twice a day, preferably in the morning and in the evening.But you should first feel with your fingers, if the earth is still wet. Long periods of time do not like most plants!
It is worth buying balcony boxes with a water tank, but the stock does not last longer than two to three days in the heat of the day. With the help of automatic irrigation systems, your garden can be controlled according to your wishes. For example, e.g. the entire Gardena garden technology can be controlled remotely via the "Busch-ComfortPanel" building control and the "BuschpriOn" room control system from Busch-Jaeger. This means that not only the automatic irrigation, but also the lighting can be easily controlled.
