Tips for Preparing a Planting Bed
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Article by: Michael J. McGroarty If you are preparing beds , Why Teak Coffee Tables Are Essential For Your Outdoor Space for landscaping , Advantages Of Solar Lights around your house , Organic Gardening - A Growing Trend this article should simplify the process for you. I say that because of everything that is written about this subject, some of it is accurate, some of it is just plain wrong, and much of it is much more complicated than it needs to be. I like to think of myself as Simple Simon. I find the easiest, yet most effective way to do things, and they work. Let's assume that the area where you are planning your bed , Why Patio Benches are a Great Place to Relax and Enjoy is now planted in grass. , Annuals For Shade How do you get rid of the grass? Chemicals or no chemicals? Chemicals are easy, so we'll look at the chemical method first. My favorite chemical for killing grass , Build A Simple Planter Box and weeds , Parsley: A Cook's Best Friend is RoundUp, and used properly it is effective. Rule number one: Read the label on the package, and mix the chemical exactly as recommended by the manufacturer. , Amaryllis - A Perfect Flower For the Festive Season Rule number two: Assume that every plant , Amaryllis - A Perfect Flower For the Festive Season that the RoundUp touches is going to die. It is a non-selective herbicide. The first thing you need to do is mark out where your planting bed , Boundaries and Rooms in Your Garden is going to be. Spend some time on this step. If you are landscaping , Ladybugs, Ladybugs, Come to My Garden around your house, , Boundaries and Rooms in Your Garden give careful consideration to what is going to be planted in the bed, , Greenhouse Gardening as a Hobby and then decide how large each plant , Building Liner Ponds is going to be when fully mature. You can keep plants , Abatement Challenges of Non-Native Noxious Weeds trimmed to a certain size, but be realistic when you make these estimates. Trust me when I tell you, this is the number one mistake made by Do-it-Yourself landscapers. People are just afraid to make those beds , Adirondack Chairs - The Proper Way to Care for Them large enough. Typically, a bed , US Flag History should never be narrower than 42", and corner beds , A Guide To Landscape Bridges should be 12' in diameter. Islands. If you make those little tiny island beds , Perfume Your Garden and Home with Gardenias that I see everywhere I am going to come over to your house , Organic Gardening - A Growing Trend and snap you with a wet towel! The island bed , Why Patio Benches are a Great Place to Relax and Enjoy in your front yard , Compost Tumblers - Gardeners Love Them should be 20' to 40' long, and a minimum of 12' in diameter on at least one end. The easiest way to mark out your planting beds , Hedge Trimmers Are Tools Not Toys is to buy a can of marking paint , Compost Tumblers - Gardeners Love Them at the hardware , How to Sprout store. Unlike most spray paint, , How Savvy Gardeners Use Mulch To Make Garden Work Easier this only works when the can is inverted, and it is designed specifically for painting , Plastic Pond Liners lines on the ground. They even have cans that spray chalk instead of paint. , Building Liner Ponds I've always used the paint, , 5 Tips For Fish Pond Maintenance it holds up better if it gets wet. Once you have the outline of the bed , Want a Garden but Not Enough Room or Soil? Then Hydroponics Gardening could be for You established and marked, mix up some RoundUp and spray all the grass , Growing in My Garden and weeds inside , Perfume Your Garden and Home with Gardenias the bed , Fleur De Lotus: Purity in a Sullied World area. Do not put RoundUp in a sprayer that you intend to use for other purposes. You need a sprayer that is dedicated for the use of herbicides. When applying the spray, be very careful not to let the spray drift onto the grass , Amaryllis - A Perfect Flower For the Festive Season and other plants , US Flag History that you do not want to kill. To minimize spray drift, adjust the spray nozzle so the spray pattern is narrow and the droplets are larger. A wide, fine spray pattern is sure to drift outside , Abatement Challenges of Non-Native Noxious Weeds of the intended area. Also keep the pressure in the sprayer quite low. Pump , Building Liner Ponds it just enough to deliver the spray. High pressure causes the spray to atomize and drift. Apply just enough spray to wet the foliage. If you have liquid dripping off the blades of grass, , Weeds - We Need 'Em you are applying too much. More is not better. Once sprayed, be careful not to step in the area that has been sprayed. Many people have had golden footprints across their lawn , Hedge Trimmers Are Tools Not Toys because they forgot and walked through what had been sprayed. This is the difficult part, and the part that many people do not get, so pay close attention. The only way that the RoundUp can possibly work is if you leave it alone. Did you get that? Once you apply the RoundUp, don't do another thing with that bed , US Flag History for 72 hours. That's three very long days. I know you're anxious, but this is the price you pay for not planning ahead. RoundUp is a systemic herbicide, which means that it has to be absorbed by the plant, , How to Sprout then translocated throughout the plant. , Constructing a Garden Path It takes three days for that to happen. If you go digging and chopping, you might just as well skip the spraying step. Go build a compost , 5 Tips For Fish Pond Maintenance bin while you're waiting. After three days the weeds , Hedge Trimmers Are Tools Not Toys and grass , Amaryllis - A Perfect Flower For the Festive Season are going to look as healthy , How to Attract Birds to Your Backyard Paradise For Less Than $100 and happy as ever. Don't let 'em fool ya. They're as dead as dead can be. Providing the RoundUp didn't get washed off by rain within the first 24 hours of the waiting period. Now you can dig and chop to your heart's content. However, the only digging that I do is to go around the edge of the bed , Decks For Above Ground Pools: Can Beautify Your Yard As Well and strip the sod back about 15". Just peel off about 1" and flip it into the center of the bed. , Garden Room Basics This makes it easier to edge and mulch the bed , Compost Tumblers - Gardeners Love Them if you get the sod out of the way. Now for the non- chemical method. Mark out the outline of the bed , 5 Tips For Fish Pond Maintenance as described above. Strip the sod back 15", just like above. Since you aren't using any herbicides I would dig down about 1-1/2" when removing the sod from the edges. Take the sod you stripped back and lay it in the center of the bed , Abatement Challenges of Non-Native Noxious Weeds upside down and pack it down firmly. Now take newspaper or brown paper grocery bags and cover the entire bed , Exotic Flowers: Luxurious and Impressive for Your Home and Garden Decor area. Use 9 layers of newspaper. No matter what method you used, chemical or non chemical, you are now ready to fill the planting bed , Taking Care of Your Bonsai with topsoil. Put 8 to 12" of good rich topsoil in the bed. , Choosing Fish for the Garden Pond Make sure the soil , Greenhouse Gardening as a Hobby is higher in the back, closest to the wall, , African Violet Care so the water , A Choice New Hydrangea With Variegated Foliage drains away from the building. , Why Patio Benches are a Great Place to Relax and Enjoy If you are creating an island planting make the center of the bed , Boundaries and Rooms in Your Garden the highest point. Make sure the topsoil you buy is well drained and rich in organic , Exotic Flowers: Luxurious and Impressive for Your Home and Garden Decor matter. Buying topsoil is a tricky game, you've got to be careful and shop around. Topsoil is one item that you do not want to order over the phone, , Exotic Flowers: Luxurious and Impressive for Your Home and Garden Decor sight unseen. This is what you are looking for when buying topsoil: Topsoil that is rich in organic , African Violet Care matter will be very dark in color. , Greenhouse Gardening as a Hobby If the soil , Greenhouse Gardening as a Hobby is light , Want a Garden but Not Enough Room or Soil? Then Hydroponics Gardening could be for You in color , Constructing a Garden Path it is probably just fill sand. , Landscaping - Using Native Plants Saves Water The other thing you've got to watch for is how well drained the soil , Constructing a Garden Path is. Topsoil that has a clay base is poorly drained and sticky, and your plants , Adirondack Chairs - The Proper Way to Care for Them will not be happy at all. They might even die if they are too wet. Once a clay based topsoil dries out it gets very hard. Today most topsoil is run through a screener to remove the clumps, rocks, roots, , Solar Lights for Walkways - Cut Costs and sticks. There is nothing wrong with buying unscreened topsoil, especially if you've visually inspected it and have found it to be of good quality. Actually, really good topsoil shouldn't have to be screened, but there is little of that quality topsoil to be had. When you visit the yard , Taking Care of Your Bonsai where the soil , Spring Gardening Tips is stockpiled, scoop up a handful of the topsoil and run it through your fingers. If it seems to be grainy, it is probably good soil. , 5 Tips For Fish Pond Maintenance But if it appears to be tiny round balls that can be smashed between your fingers, it is probably a clay based soil , A Choice New Hydrangea With Variegated Foliage that will trap water , Weeds - We Need 'Em during rainy seasons, , Exotic Flowers: Luxurious and Impressive for Your Home and Garden Decor and get as hard as a rock when it's hot , Perfume Your Garden and Home with Gardenias and dry. Pay attention to how the soil , Gardening Tips To Excite Toddlers And Preschoolers is screened. Some machines just shake the soil , Want a Garden but Not Enough Room or ? Then Hydroponics Gardening could be for You over a set of screens to separate the debris, and others actually shred the soil. , Gardening Using Trees and Shrubs with Scent in Mind If the soil , US Flag History needs to be shredded, you don't want it. Look closely at the pile that the raw soil , Abatement Challenges of Non-Native Noxious Weeds is coming from. If the soil , Hedge Trimmers Are Tools Not Toys in the raw pile is as hard as a rock, that's what the screened soil , Adirondack Chairs - The Proper Way to Care for Them is going be once you get it in your beds. , Ladybugs, Ladybugs, Come to My Garden If it appears to be fairly loose, it's probably good soil. , Landscaping - Using Native Plants Saves Water Put 6-8" of topsoil in your beds. , Abatement Challenges of Non-Native Noxious Weeds You are now ready to plant. , Annuals For Shade Did you notice that I didn't get into rototilling and all kinds of extra work? Nor did I suggest that you add bone meal or any of those other goodies that the garden , Brilliant Corners: House Plants and Your Health centers sell. I skipped the part about checking the pH too. pH is important, but I've found that good topsoil almost always has a suitable pH. I've got a confession to make. In almost 30 years of growing, , Amaryllis - A Perfect Flower For the Festive Season planting, landscaping , Growing in My Garden and the like, I've never tested the pH of the soil , Gardening Tips To Excite Toddlers And Preschoolers on any project that I was working on. Is that smart? I don't know, but I've been successful in my efforts, and I have landscaped several hundred homes , How to Attract Birds to Your Backyard Paradise For Less Than $100 and grown tens of thousands of plants. , Adirondack Chairs - The Proper Way to Care for Them It's something to think about. What I'm really trying to say is don't get caught up in too many details, and be careful who you take advice , A Choice New Hydrangea With Variegated Foliage from at those garden , Organic ing - A Growing Trend stores. Many of those sales people were flipping burgers last week. Article Source: http://www.articledashboard.com
Michael J. McGroarty is the author of this article. Visit his most interesting website, www.freeplants.com and sign up for his excellent gardening , Decks For Above Ground Pools: Can Beautify Your Yard As Well newsletter. Article provided by gardening-articles.com |
  
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