Tips For Gardening In Hot Weather

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Tips For Gardening In Hot Weather

By Kaycee Nilson
June 17, 2006

Hi everyone! I bet that if you are like I am, you enjoy gardening as a way to release the pressures of work and family and whatnot. So using my knowledge of organic gardening that I obtained while attending both Texas A&M and SMU, I will pass on some tips I think will fit everyone across the world.

Now what I will omit are the tips that are designed for the southern part of the US for I know not everyone lives south of the Mason Dixon Line. But really the best time to water your plants is in dusk or early evening. This way, the plant roots don’t have to fight with the sun to obtain the nourishments that they need. Also this is the perfect time to fertilize, you don’t want to use a chemical fertilizer like Miracle Grow because over time this will poison the soil and then you will never get anything to grow, even if you scrape out and refill with new topsoil.

I suggest that you go to your garden center and ask for liquid kelp and fish emulsion. Yes, you are going to smell to high Heaven when you get through, but at least this is not going to poison your plants and strip your soil of earthworms that are precious. It only takes 1 teaspoon of either to 2 gallons of water. I personally like the liquid kelp myself because it has my petunias so full and bushy. I also love the abundance of rose blossoms I get.

Now for those of you with roses and you turn the leaves over and find a bunch of black spots, that is a condition that is called (naturally) “black spot,” the best way to get rid of this is to not throw out your coffee grounds and other organics from your kitchen, but make a compost heap with chicken wire and have it 1 inch off the ground. Also buy some earthworms and place them into your compost maker as the way that they help break down the organics and their excrement is also healthy for your plants. Each week, pick a day any day, go out with a pitch fork and turn over everything you have placed in your compost maker on a daily basis and then take the most broken down, worms and all and dig 1 inch around the rose bush and place the compost in it. Then water thoroughly.

If your roses are turning yellow in the leaves, take banana peels and burry them 1 inch deep around the rose bush as the potassium in the banana peel is good for the roses just as the potassium in the banana itself is good for you.

See bugs eating at your plant leaves? Don’t reach for the chemical bug killers! Reach for praying mantis and ladybugs. These bugs feed upon other bugs and they are beautiful to watch in your garden as well.

But I cannot stress enough the importance of the earthworm in your gardens, they keep the soil from becoming impacted, their excrement has more vitamins and minerals for your plants than you can ever imagine. They are God’s gift to plants and your soil.

Now for you golfers, wear your golfing shoes while piddling around in your yard or in your garden. Aeration is the best thing (next to earthworms) for your grass and other plants. Roots love air and the air loves to give the roots the carbon dioxide that the plant’s root need. Plus this also allows for more oxygen to be made by the plant to be released into your air as well.

Well that’s it for this edition, and if I come up with others or if some of you would like to share your organic tips, send them to me and I will credit you with them in another column!

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About the author: Kaycee Nilson has completed her first novel, "Night Falls on Chicago." The first two chapters can be viewed at http://www.KayceeNilson.com.

Besides writing columns for Useless-Knowledge and Speedway Media, Kaycee is currently working on two more novels, "From the Mind of a Vampire", and "I'll Love You Til You Die."

If you have enjoyed what you read, or would like to leave Kaycee a message, please visit her message board at http://www.KayceeNilson.com/Board

Email: Kaycee@kayceenilson.com

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