The 101s |
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Bulbs
Flowers
Fruit Trees
Herbs
Lawns
Garden Design
Food Gardening
Container Gardening
Small Fruits & Berries
Compost
Bulbs 101
National Gardening Association Editors
In addition to their charm and beauty, the large and diverse group of plants known as bulbs have a lot going for them: They come in neat little packages, are just about 100 percent guaranteed to bloom the first year they are planted, and are surprisingly pest- and disease-free. The biggest challenge for home gardeners seems to be in remembering to plant them in fall so they'll bloom the following spring--or in the case of summer-flowering bulbs, remembering to plant them in early spring. Some of the best known and loved spring-flowering bulbs include anemone, crocus, freesia, frittilaria, grape hyacinth, hyacinth, iris, lily, lily of the valley, narcissus (which include daffodils), ornamental onion (Allium) ranunculus, and tulips.
Summer Bulbs
In any gardener's inventory of beauty, the group of plants known collectively as "summer-flowering bulbs" may be the least known and under-utilized of them all. Every gardener has at least a passing awareness of spring-flowering bulbs, but ask even an accomplished gardener to list more than three summer-flowering bulbs, and you'll probably hear a lot of stammering and stuttering. Too bad.
Comprised mainly of exotic species from foreign lands, summer-flowering bulbs can lend impressive amounts of color and beauty to the summer and late-summer landscape, for very little effort or expense. And, if you choose them right, many have the added benefit of becoming permanent residents in your garden -- not only returning every summer, but actually multiplying in the process (in regions with cold winters, most gardeners dig the bulbs in fall and store them over the winter in a cool, well-ventilated location).
Summer-flowering bulbs require the same basic planting and care as given for spring-flowering bulbs, only they are planted in spring instead of fall. Summer-flowering bulb favorites include achimenes, begonia, caladium, calla lily, canna, dahlia, gladiolus, lily, and lily-of-the-Nile (Agapanthus).
Spring-flowering Bulbs
Planting and enjoying the beauty of bulbs is one of the most straightforward propositions in all of gardendom. Following the tips below should practically guarantee success, even if you're a first-time bulb planter.
Sometime in autumn, spring-flowering bulbs will arrive at your local nurseries and garden centers by the bushel-load. About the same time, you'll probably also begin receiving beautiful catalogs offering you spring-flowering bulbs through the mail. Whether you buy them from a local source or order them from a catalog, buy them early for the best selection and always order or buy from a reputable source that offers top-quality bulbs.
Once you have your bulbs in hand, it's a good idea to plant them as soon as possible. If you have to delay planting, store the bulbs in paper bags (not plastic) in a well-ventilated, cool spot.
In the main, all bulbs prefer a sunny location in the garden as well as well-drained soil. If your soil is heavy (or exceptionally sandy), add two or three inches of organic soil amendment (such as compost, ground bark, or peat moss) and cultivate the soil to a depth of six inches or more, incorporating the organic amendment as you turn the soil.
When it comes to accenting gardens with bulbs, more is always more. Don't skimp! And for some unknown reason, many gardeners become regimented when they plant bulbs, arranging them in precise lines and grids. If you don't want your garden to look like a display in a municipal garden, gently throw the bulbs on the ground and plant them where they lie. Random clumps and drifts suit bulbs well, resulting in a natural-looking garden.
As far as planting depth is concerned, here are the general rules: Plant large bulbs at a depth about twice the height of the bulb; plant small bulbs slightly deeper than twice their height. In regions with extremely cold winters, err on the side of planting deeper than normal.
After planting, lightly apply a complete, dry fertilizer over the bed. Use a fertilizer low in nitrogen, such as a 9-6-6 formulation. No further fertilizer will be necessary until the shoots appear from the soil in spring, when one additional application of the same complete fertilizer will see the bulbs through the growing season.
Once the bulbs are planted and fertilized, water the bed thoroughly to settle the soil. If desired, cover the bed with a 1-inch layer of organic mulch to deter future weeds and improve the soil.
If gophers, mice, squirrels, or chipmunks are prevalent in your area, you might want to protect your bulb investment by planting them in a "cage" fashioned with chicken wire.
In spring, after the bulbs have finished blooming, remove only the spent flowers. Allow the foliage to grow for as long as it cares to. Once it has turned completely yellow or brown, simply yank it from the below-ground bulb. Removing the foliage while it is still green will seriously diminish the bulb's vigor the following year. If necessary, disguise the withering bulb foliage with an overplanting of spring annuals, such as violas, calendulas, or pansies.
Photography by National Gardening Association
Growing Flowers 101
National Gardening Association Editors
If you'd like a low-maintenance flower garden, your most important work will be done with pencil, paper, and some reference materials.
Old homes occupied by expert gardeners often feature gardens that are beautiful for decades after the gardener departed, almost as if they evolved naturally. Planning is the reason.
When you start planning your flower garden, here are some things to consider:
Annuals or perennials?
Annuals bloom for one season and are replaced the following season. The gardens in those older homes are perennial gardens, coming back year after year...growing, spreading, and creating a mature landscape. If you are planning a perennial garden, consider what will happen when everything grows to its full size.
If it's flowers you're after, you can hardly go wrong planting roses. The repeat-blooming shrub roses are easiest to grow. Hybrid teas make the most elegant, long-stemmed flowers.
For flowers early in spring, plant bulbs. Daffodils will come back year after year, requiring virtually nothing of the gardener beyond planting in the first place.
Sun or shade?
You can find plants that will thrive in both, but make sure one tall sun-loving plant won't grow up to shade out a shorter one. This also relates to...
Size.
If you analyze most gardens, large plantings form a frame or backdrop for progressively shorter ones, ending with low border plants that rise a few inches above the lawn. Also consider how much the plants will spread out when they are mature.
Color.
How will the colors complement each other when they are in blossom?
Season.
With a little planning, something in your garden will always be in blossom from the early spring crocus through the mums of autumn.
Formal or informal?
Formal gardens have geometric shapes and square, sharp edges. Their design is symmetrical. Informal gardens celebrate curves and gentle, wide arcs that flow from one view to another.
Foliage textures and forms.
Sharp spikes, soft globes, and all the other forms that foliage and blossoms take can be mixed together for drama.
Mass.
Don't be skimpy. Mass plantings not only add drama, they crowd out weeds. Use a mulch -- large chunks of bark are a good choice -- to cover the ground you leave bare for expansion...or plant these areas with annuals.
For inspiration, buy a book rich in color pictures of gardens and study those that appeal to you. Tear pictures out of home and garden magazines. You'll soon find there is a pattern to those you like. Analyze them.
For information, acquire mail-order garden catalogs. You can make your plan and do your ordering at the same time. Your local garden center is also the source of expert information on plants that do well in your area.
With solid planning, your garden will be more attractive and less work with every passing year.
Photography by Suzanne DeJohn/National Gardening Association
Fruit Trees 101
National Gardening Association Editors
Fruit trees are a long-term investment. Don't let tempting catalog pictures and descriptions lure you into quick decisions on which ones to plant. Instead, spend some time planning. Call your local nursery or county Extension Service agent to find out what weather problems and fruit diseases are troublesome in your area, and which types of fruits, varieties, and rootstocks are best adapted.
Carefully access your soil conditions, choose the best sites in your yard for fruit trees, and sketch a landscape plan. Consider the following questions when choosing the types of fruits and varieties you'll grow:
Do your favorite fruits grow well in your area? Can you count on a crop almost every year, or much less often due to frequent weather problems?
When do the varieties you're considering ripen in your area? It's nice to have fresh fruit ripening continuously from early summer to late fall.
How will you preserve some of the harvest? Some fruits are better than others for cooking, canning, and freezing.
How much space do you want to devote to fruit trees? Remember that fruit trees are beautiful flowering trees as well. You can plant beds of flowers and herbs underneath and/around them or espalier them (train them along a fence or trellis) to save space.
How many varieties of each type of fruit do you need? Some fruits are self-pollinating so only one variety is needed; others require a second variety nearby in order to set fruit.
How much time do you want to devote to tree care? All fruit trees require yearly pruning and some pest control, and all large fruits require some fruit thinning.
What tree qualities are important to you? Dwarf size? Quick fruit production? Long life? Disease resistance? All of these qualities vary with the species of fruit tree, the variety, and rootstock.
Herb Gardening 101
National Gardening Association Editors
Herbs, with their multitude of uses, enhance gardens by adding color, interesting forms, and rich or subtle fragrances. An essential addition to many recipes, herbs are easy to grow and well worth the effort. Plant your herbs where you can get to them easily for frequent harvesting such as in the garden or in containers or window boxes. You can keep them in your vegetable garden or plant them in a special show-off bed of their own. If you plant perennial herbs in the vegetable garden, set them off so they'll be easy to avoid during spring and fall tilling.
Types of Herbs
Herbs may be annuals (started from seed each year, as is basil), biennials (requiring 2 seasons of growth to produce fully, as with parsley), or perennials (that grow back year after year, like chives). Despite these basic differences, most herbs require the same growing conditions: a minimum of 6 hours of sunlight per day, excellent soil drainage, and moderately rich, friable soil. All herbs will benefit from a little fertilizer added to the soil. Use 1-1/2 to 2 pounds of 5-10-10 or its organic equivalent per 100 square feet during soil preparation a day or two before planting. Many herbs will get tall and leggy with higher fertilizer amounts; compact, bushy plants usually produce more essential oils for herb flavor. Growing herbs, like cooking with herbs, is often a process of trial and error. If a plant is not growing well in a particular location, dig it up and try it in a new location. Early spring, just as new growth begins, is a good time to move many perennial herbs.
Lawns 101
National Gardening Association Editors
Much has been said and written about whether or not Americans should rethink their passion for the home lawn. There is general agreement that where summer rains are adequate and a well-adapted variety of grass is grown, a lawn makes perfect sense. Unfortunately, geographic areas where summer rains are adequate enough to support a lush, green stand of grass are few and far between in this country.
While acknowledging the validity of those points, no surface is better suited to outdoor living and game playing than a grass lawn. And few (if any) are more beautiful. Viewed from that perspective, the bigger the lawn, the better! The most practical and thoughtful opinions have suggested that a lawn is well worth the energy and expense it requires, in any region of the country, if it is actively used as a surface for outdoor living and playing.
If, however, you do not intend to use the lawn for game-playing and entertaining, by all means consider planting another type of ground cover, one well adapted to your area. Once ground covers are established, they require far less maintenance than a lawn. Ground covers make perfect sense when all you require is an even visual expanse of green to fill in the area between the house and the fence.
If you determine that a grass lawn makes sense for your yard, planting the right variety of grass at the right time of year will go a long way in making yours a healthy, easy-care lawn. If the healthiest, best-looking lawn with the least amount of maintenance is your goal (and why shouldn't it be?), follow the instructions in The All Important First Step (below) religiously. You won't be disappointed.
Practical, Eco-Friendly Lawn Maintenance
If you've decided on a lawn, even though your climate is ill-suited to supporting it naturally, there are four steps you can take to reduce its high-maintenance requirements and all but eliminate any negative environmental impact.
Instead of bagging the lawn clippings, let them compost in place, right on the lawn. Research has shown that leaving the clippings on the lawn actually benefits the soil and the lawn. As the clippings decompose, they improve the structure of the soil and return nitrogen to the lawn.
The shorter the clippings, the more easily they fall to the soil (as opposed to lying on top of the grass), and the more quickly they decompose. Optimally, you should never cut more than one-third off the total height of the grass. This means you may need to mow your lawn on a slightly more frequent schedule, but it's a small price to pay for improving the health of your lawn while eliminating the effort involved in bagging and hauling clippings around the yard.
Second, never apply too much fertilizer at once, and use only slow- or controlled-release fertilizers. Look for a high percentage of "WIN" nitrogen on the bag (that stands for "water-insoluble nitrogen"), or chose fertilizers from natural sources, such as manure. Other forms of nitrogen may provide a quick green-up, but they are so highly soluble that much of the nitrogen leaches through to the soil without the grass ever having a chance to use it. These soluble forms of nitrogen, such as ammonium sulfate, have caused problems by polluting groundwater and nearby streams and lakes.
Relax your standards somewhat regarding what you consider to be weeds. No less than the great American horticulturist, Liberty Hyde Bailey, wrote in 1898: "The man who worries morning and night about dandelions in the lawn will find great relief in loving the dandelions. Each blossom is worth more than a gold coin, as it shimmers in exuberant sunlight of the growing spring, and attracts the bees to its bosom. Little children love the dandelions: why not we? Love the things nearest at hand; and love intensely."
Instead of trying to achieve that nearly impossible perfect grass lawn, completely free of dandelions, crabgrass, clover, and whatnot, why not leave the herbicides on the shelf and simply enjoy what you've got? A lawn with a few weeds in it is not going to stop anyone from having a grand time playing touch football, badminton, or hide-and-seek. Leave perfection to the greenskeepers and their putting greens.
Finally, if insect pests become a serious problem in your lawn, opt for a natural control. Great strides have been made in the science of organic pesticides. Today there is an effective, natural control product available for every lawn pest. These products make sense not only from an environmental point of view, but from a personal one. All you have to do is imagine the number of times kids fall facedown in the grass during an active game of volleyball or football, or just how close babies or toddlers are to the lawn as they crawl or wobble across the grass, and the choice of insect remedies becomes clear-cut.
The All-Important First Step
Nothing, repeat nothing, is more important to the successful growth of any plant than proper advance soil preparation. Skip this all-important first step, and you're asking for trouble. Abide by it, and you've taken a huge step in ensuring a thriving, easy-to-care-for lawn or garden.
Briefly stated, no matter what type of soil you find in your yard, from the sandiest sand to the heaviest clay, a liberal addition of organic matter works miracles. The organic matter can be anything form compost to well-rotted leaf mold, fine fir bark, or peat moss. Almost every area of the country lays claim to some indigenous, inexpensive organic material, readily available to homeowners for free, the material having been made from the leaves gathered by municipal crews in the fall.
The amount of organic matter you add should be equal to the depth that you intend to turn the soil. If you're preparing the soil to plant a lawn, whether from seed or sod, the minimum depth you should till is 6 inches; 8 or 12 is that much better. This may contradict some traditional advice, but experience has proved it to be very successful. If you intend to till the soil to a depth of 8 inches, then you should add 8 inches of organic material on top of the soil before you till to incorporate it to the full depth. This takes some doing, but it helps develop an extensive, healthy root system, resulting in a hardy, vigorous lawn that is able to withstand periods of drought and is more resistant to disease and pests.
Depending on the type of lawn you are planting and the characteristics of your native soil, you may want to add fertilizer and lime as you incorporate the organic matter. Explain your situation to your local nursery staff to find out if such additions are necessary.
After tilling the organic matter into the soil, rake the area smooth and sow the grass seed or roll out the sod. Keep the soil moist (but not wet) for a week or ten days. You'll be amazed at the growth the lawn puts on in such superior soil, even in the first year, not to mention its long-term vigor, in both good years and bad.
Garden Design 101
National Gardening Association Editors
You've looked at your home, apartment, or condominium a thousand times, but have you looked at it through a gardener's eyes?
Have you considered what's possible? A cottage cutting garden, a small orchard, a collection of useful herbs, or a private garden spot for morning coffee or evening relaxation may all be possible.
The formula is simple. Your creativity + solid information + a plan can produce that little corner of paradise that has always been part of a "someday" dream.
It all begins with a plan. You don't have to create it all at once. A plan allows you to complete stages as your budget allows and make sure that what you do this season won't have to be undone next season. It also allows you to think carefully about the plantings and varieties best suited for your climate, your needs, and the conditions on your property.
If you expect to make major changes or additions to your garden, a consultation with your nurseryman or a landscape architect could save you money in the long run.
First, collect pictures of scenes that please you. Tastes vary. Some people like precise formal gardens, some want to play croquet on a big lawn, others like the wild country look.
Second, take an inventory. Do a "floor plan" of your property on a piece of graph paper. Take note of existing plantings, walls, walkways, driveways, and other features. Also note sunny and shady areas. The north side of the house is bound to be shady, and that means planning for shade-loving plants and grasses.
For example, in the northern United States, lawn seed mixes for shady areas will require more grasses called fescues, which like shade, and less Kentucky Bluegrass, the sun-loving grass of the North.
Problem areas--like low spots where water gathers--may require special treatment like the installation of drain tile.
Third, consider what spaces are public and which are private...or which you would like to make public or private. Plan to achieve private outdoor living areas. "Borrow" landscape by planning to open up pleasant views and screen unattractive areas. What will you see in the foreground, midrange, and background? What would happen if you went up with a multilevel deck or down with a sunken area?
Fourth, consider convenience. If you plan to grow fruit, vegetables, and herbs, you can zone your garden for convenience. The herbs and salad garden belong close to the kitchen, where it is easy to visit every day. Fruit trees can be at the far corners of the property.
If space is a major consideration, plant intensively and mix flowers and vegetables together.
Fifth, think about the type of landscaping that would be appropriate for your neighborhood and home style. A Japanese garden around a country cottage could be more weird than wonderful.
As you begin to select plants, consider your climate zone. Research how large the plantings will become in a few years. For flowering plants, consider their colors, height, and the time of year they blossom. Put tall plants behind short ones and plan to have continuous color from the first flowering bulbs of early spring to hardy mums, which will withstand a light frost.
Try to place plants so the tall ones won't shade the short ones. That means short plants toward the south, tall ones toward the north (unless you want to create a shady area and plant it with shade-loving plants).
Be bold to make an impact. Plant in large masses rather than skimpy ones. The eye enjoys the contrast of open and closed spaces that flow together. It is drawn to the irregular shape and the curved path. When visiting carefully planned gardens, you will notice that rarely do you walk straight through them. You are directed along a winding or zig-zag path that reveals new scenes at every turn. The same technique can be applied in a suburban back yard.
A garden plan is a creative process that will bring joy for years. As one gardener describes it: "My garden is my artist's palette."
Photography by National Gardening Association
Food Gardening 101
National Gardening Association Editors
It's a great treat to go shopping in your own garden to harvest fresh food.
A small, well-tended garden can be just as productive as a large one that is ignored, so it is a good idea to start small and expand it as you need more space.
If you are gardening in small spaces, your taste and budget will shape your garden plan. Here are some examples:
The herb garden.
Cooks love to have a supply of fresh herbs on hand. As a rule of thumb, use twice the amount of fresh herbs as dried herbs to achieve the same taste. Herbs are just weeds with special-tasting properties. Flavors intensify as they dry. You can have an herb garden mixed in with vegetable or flower gardens, separately outside the kitchen door, or on a sunny windowsill. Favorites are basil, chives, parsley, tarragon, oregano, and thyme. Herb seeds are very slow to germinate, so get started with young plants from the garden center. If you love pesto, be sure to get enough basil to freeze some for the winter. For frozen pesto, add the garlic after you thaw it for best flavor.
The hidden garden.
If you only want an occasional tomato or other vegetable for fresh use, plant vegetables among your flowers. Instead of a border planting, use a few feet of leaf lettuce. Cut it instead of pulling it and it will produce two more cuttings. Tomatoes, eggplant, even bush varieties of cukes can be tucked into a flower garden.
The kitchen garden.
This can be a small garden planted in 1-, 2-, or 3-foot-wide blocks or rows (you have to be able to reach into the middle of the row). It is "shopped" daily and meals can be planned around what is coming in. It might contain two or three varieties of lettuce (make plantings three weeks apart in spring for a long harvest), onion sets that can be pulled as scallions or allowed to mature, two or three varieties of tomatoes ('Sweet Million' cherry tomatoes for salads, 'Roma' for sauces, and an early variety for slicing), cucumbers, zucchini and summer squash, and two or three varieties of peas (snow peas for stir fry and salad, snap peas for salad and fresh eating, and 'Sugar Snaps' for snacks), and bush or pole beans such as 'Roma' or 'Tendergreen Improved'). Your herb garden can occupy one corner, if you choose. A few flowers will brighten it up. As you set out broccoli plants from the garden center, plant some seeds as well. It will stretch the harvest.
No kitchen garden is complete without a fruit tree. If you live in coastal California, plant a 'Meyer' lemon tree, and you'll enjoy a year-round supply of the best lemonade you've ever tasted. Or if you live in Minneapolis, make it an apple tree.
Let your taste dictate what you plant. A kitchen garden is designed to be small, for daily use. Crops like potatoes and carrots are fun to grow, but are inexpensive to buy, so they might not be a top priority. An early crop of beans can be pulled out when it is done producing, composted, and the space replanted with a late crop of beans. If you know your first frost date and the number of days a crop takes to bear, you can make sure the space is constantly producing.
If you have the time and space, a large garden can be planned to produce enough for daily use and to be frozen, canned, or dehydrated for use all winter long (sundried tomatoes are easy to make, but expensive to buy, for example).
The generous-sized garden makes room for the sprawling vine crops like winter squash that store well without processing. Potatoes, carrots and lots of tomatoes, peppers, and onions for sauces have a place too. Yellow onions are best for storing into fall. While canning used to be the principal preservation method, freezing now presents another option.
The secret of a successful vegetable garden is to plant it with the things you love to eat and keep it small enough to make tending it a joy.
Container Gardening 101
National Gardening Association Editors
Some of the most spectacular gardens found anywhere are on the rooftops and patios of the world's largest cities.
Today's condominium owners and apartment dwellers do not have to forsake gardening. In fact, they can create their own garden hideaway in small spaces.
Gardening in small space means you plant in containers, choose plants carefully, grow up on trellises instead of out, hang plants from something overhead and, above all, be bold.
Here are some tips for small-space growing:
Containers.
People grow in everything from custom-made pottery to antique bathtubs, with clay pots and wooden planters being more common. Any container that appeals to you is a possibility, but it must have drainage holes at the bottom. Cover the holes (but don't block them) with a section of window screen so the soil doesn't leak out. Set big plants on platforms with casters, so you can roll them around to redecorate or roll them indoors over the winter.
Hanging baskets.
The most dramatic hanging planters are wire baskets lined with moss, filled with a growing medium and planted. These allow you to plant all over the basket surface, including the bottom, by pushing plants up through the moss into the growing medium.
Soil mix.
Buy a bag of dry, soilless mix for container gardening. If you have enough storage space, buy a big bag. You need to soak the soil with water before planting. This process can be messy, so plan ahead and do it outside if possible. Moisten only as much as you'll need for the current project.
Annuals.
Choose plants with long blooming periods. Look for annuals that are short instead of tall, since tall plants often need staking and that can be difficult in containers.
Bulbs.
They can be "forced" to blossom in containers whenever you choose. Sometimes they are planted in large wooden or clay bowls. Set the bulbs in soilless mix almost touching each other. Sprinkle more mix between and over them until they are barely covered. Put them in a cool, dark place until growth appears, usually about 8 weeks. Set them in the sun and they will grow and blossom. Bulbs that are forced should not be planted again.
Perennials.
Can be grown in containers and moved in and out of the house. Experienced container gardeners will mix bulbs, annuals and perennials for a long-blooming display. In this use, bulbs are not forced and come back year after year because they are able to store food.
Herbs, vegetables, shrubs, and citrus fruits can all be grown in containers. More and more vegetable varieties are available specifically for container growing. Check plant descriptions.
Watering.
Keep an eye on your container garden. It can dry out quickly in hot weather. If you really get into it, you might want to consider a drip irrigation system. This is a network of plastic tubing that can be regulated to provide a constant moisture supply to your plants.
Fertilizing.
Fertilizers wash out of container soils faster than out of garden soil. A liquid fertilizer, applied at half strength every two weeks, is one common technique. You can also try plant spikes (a solid fertilizer that slowly dissolves with watering) or mixing organics into the soil.
As perennial plants grow, they can fill the entire pot with their roots. They will become stunted if they are allowed to remain rootbound, so from time to time you can move them up to larger pots with a fresh batch of soilless mix.
For the investment, a container garden patio or deck will provide an enormous amount of pleasure.
Compost 101
National Gardening Association Editors
One of the best natural fertilizers and soil builders is available free. You make it yourself and solve some environmental problems at the same time. It's compost. Good gardeners have been making their own compost for a long time, but it has recently been "discovered" as one solution to the problem of our shrinking space in landfills.
Many communities now forbid yard wastes or charge a premium for taking them. Community composting has arrived on the scene, and you can also do it in your own backyard. Leaves, grass clippings, and even vegetable wastes from the kitchen are the building blocks of compost.
Making compost is simple and inexpensive. It is a little like making a lasagna -- a layer of this, a layer of that and then let the whole thing cook until it's done.
For equipment, you can use a homemade container made from welded wire mesh, concrete blocks, or wooden shipping pallets -- anything that will allow you to form a pile three to five feet across and not more than five feet high. Or, you can use a purchased compost bin. Many of these contain features that making turning the compost easier, speeding the decomposition process.
The recipe for compost is air plus moisture plus layers of waste materials like leaves, grass clippings, kitchen scraps (not meat or bones), weeds pulled from the garden, and so on. These things dumped into a bin will decompose slowly over time -- and that might be sufficient.
However, you can make compost in as little as a few weeks by constructing a pile or using a bin that heats the materials to more than 140 degrees, killing any weed seeds or harmful bacteria in manures. These piles are made by layering materials high in carbon (leaves, for example), with materials high in nitrogen (manure, alfalfa meal, cottonseed meal).
The classic organic gardener's recipe for compost calls for a layer of vegetable matter about six inches thick, a layer of manure about two inches thick, then a thin layer of soil with ground limestone added. This compost lasagna is repeated until the pile is three to five feet high. A little depression is made in the top and it is watered. Serious composters often have several bins in a row where they collect and stockpile materials.
The smaller the pieces, the faster they will be broken down by the many types of bacteria that will go to work. A chipper or grinder is becoming an increasingly important piece of equipment for shredding soft materials for composting. Coarse, woody materials are also chipped and used as mulch on flower beds and around landscape plants.
In about two weeks, the bacteria will have reduced a lot of material in the pile to compost and caused it to heat up, but they probably will have run out of oxygen. The pile now needs to be turned to be aerated.
If you used a wire mesh, you can simply stand on top of the pile and pull it straight up and off. Then set it to one side and turn the pile into it. Depending upon your setup, you can turn the material into an adjacent bin or turn it within the bin itself. A three-side bin makes this easier.
Commercial compost machines available in garden centers often make this process easier by putting a drum or container on some kind of turning device.
In another week or two, the compost can be worked into your soil. Any remaining large lumps can be recomposted. Things like broccoli stalks break down faster if they are pounded with a mallet to soften them up.
There are as many variations on the composting theme as there are gardeners. For example:
• Keeping a supply of red wiggler earthworms in a container in the basement to compost kitchen wastes.
• Blending small amounts of vegetable wastes in a blender and adding it to houseplants.
• Simply burying kitchen wastes in flower or vegetable garden beds.
Vegetable kitchen wastes, including coffee grounds and egg shells -- even hair, feathers, wood ashes, ground stone and shells -- can be composted along with yard wastes. Items that should be kept out of compost include meat and bones, large amounts of sawdust, pet manure and, of course anything metallic or plastic.
When the compost is done, it can be turned into the soil or sifted through a screen of hardware cloth and used to pot houseplants. Composting is one of the most direct and beneficial forms of recycling around.
Small Fruits & Berries 101
National Gardening Association Editors
The most popular berries among gardeners are the same ones that still come to market: strawberries, blueberries and, occasionally, red raspberries. We grow what we know, naturally enough. But why stop with only those? With a few more bush and bramble berries, you can have a steady supply of fruit all summer long. A gooseberry bush or two will fill the gap between the last strawberries and the first raspberries and still be ripening fruit when the raspberries have finished. Midsummer brings on the red and white currants and blackcap raspberries. After that come the blackberries and then blueberries, and finally the late red raspberries, which ripen until frost. Compared with apples, peaches or any of the tree fruits, bush and bramble fruits are easy to grow. They rarely require spraying for pests and begin bearing some fruit the year after you plant them. By their third season they should be in full production. Perhaps most important, they're very space efficient. None require a mix of varieties for cross-pollination.
Berry Intensive
With intensive culture, berries will reward you handsomely. First aim for variety and a long harvest season, then plant small numbers of each kind and care for them well. Buy the smallest number of plants you can as you're learning, and if you want more, get a second variety.
Incorporate lots of organic matter before planting, and mulch with shredded leaves or compost every year. Prune regularly through the season to keep each branch or cane as productive as possible. And train the bushes and brambles against walls and fences to make better use of space. Here are some thoughts on the major classes of berries and how to fit them into your garden space.
Strawberries
These are the first fruit of the season, which may be why people treasure them so. Since your fruit garden will provide you with a variety of other berries all season long, forego everbearing strawberries in favor of main croppers. An early and a late variety will provide strawberries for two to three weeks. Consider old standards, such as 'Fairfax' or 'Sparkle', that are so soft they leave your fingers red with juice after picking.
Renew the planting every year by tilling or digging under most of the plants and letting runners set in well-worked, fertile ground. Keep them in a bed to themselves, however, since strawberries are susceptible to verticillium wilt carried by tomatoes, peppers, eggplant and potatoes. Use wire arches over the beds (the kind you'd use for plastic tunnels) to support bird netting.
Gooseberries
Gooseberries grow on dense bushes that reach two to four feet tall without training. They're hardy throughout most of the U.S. excepting the southwestern deserts and the inland valleys of California. Best fruit production occurs in the mid-Atlantic and northeastern U.S.
Gooseberries leaf out early in spring. The foliage is a lustrous green, turning bronze to red in fall, and branches are covered with straight, inch-long spines. The ripe fruit is either translucent yellow-green or dusky purple to red, depending on the variety. When ripe, the fruit is juicy and sweet with a pleasing acidity. As with any fruit, there are marked varietal differences in flavor.
Gooseberries are one of the few fruits that hold their quality well on the bush when ripe. The earliest gooseberries (which can be picked green) fill the brief gap between the last strawberries and the first red raspberries. When the berries reach about 1/2-inch diameter and are still hard and a month from being ripe, they're excellent for pies and other cooked desserts. This early harvest thins the fruit so the ripe berries will be larger.
Gooseberries, especially the unripe fruit, are high in pectin; you can make very thick jam with no added pectin. A mature plant can produce from five to eight quarts of fruit, so one plant may be all you need. Where space is extremely limited, train gooseberries against walls as fan-shaped espaliers or as single-stemmed cordons. These make striking plants with year-round interest, and picking will be easier, too.
Gooseberries bear fruit near the base of one-year-old shoots and on short spurs on older wood. So no matter how carelessly one prunes, there's always some fruit. Remove about 20 percent of the oldest growth--wood that's been growing for three to five seasons--each year. Also cut out enough of the newest growth to make the plant open and easy to pick. Always save some vigorous new shoots to become future main branches. Any new shoot can be cut back to four to six inches with little loss in fruiting potential.
Red Raspberries
A 30-foot row of raspberries, trained to single stems against a wall or fence, will yield about a quart of fruit every other day for three weeks, and that's plenty of raspberries for most people. A more traditional hedge-type planting will yield twice that amount, although it takes at least twice the space. Intensively trained berries are extremely productive. To get the most from red raspberries, plant at least two kinds: a main crop variety for heavy early summer harvests and a fall (or everbearing) type to close out the berry harvest. Where the season is long, you may need to plant two fall varieties to keep you picking until frost.
The popular 'Heritage' variety, for example, will be finished in early September in USDA Zone 6, with about four weeks of potential ripening weather left. It's a mistake to cut raspberry canes back in an effort to make the canes self-supporting. The most fruitful buds are those nearest the top of the canes. You'll get the best results by tying the canes to two wires 2-1/2 and five or six feet off the ground, depending on the vigor of the variety. Main-crop raspberries fruit on one-year-old canes. After harvest, cut them out at ground level to favor the new canes. When you've got vigorous new canes growing about six inches apart, remove any new ones that appear through the growing season. Fall raspberries fruit on new canes at the end of their first growing season and again the following summer. For heavier fall crops, prune the canes to the ground after the first harvest in autumn and forego the summer crop from fall varieties.
Black Raspberries
Although closely related to the reds, blackcaps have a distinctive flavor, ripen a little later, and require slightly different training. Black raspberries spread by bending the tips of their canes to the ground where they root, leapfrogging along at two to three feet a year. New shoots arise only from the original crowns, not willy-nilly from the roots as with reds. In most other respects, they're very similar to the reds. There are no fall-fruiting black raspberries. In an attempt to bend to the ground and root, the canes elongate and become thin and weak at the tips. Unless you want to start new plants, cut these raspberries back to 3 or 4 feet. They'll be self-supporting, with no loss of fruiting potential. Cut the old canes out after harvest. Since black raspberries don't throw root suckers, they take much less thinning than reds.
Currants: Black, White, and Red
Judging by flavor alone, most people would regard currants as two totally different fruits: the fresh, tart, and crystalline reds and whites versus the strangely pungent and heavy blacks. But they're close botanical relatives, and because they ripen about the same time and their culture is almost identical, it's best to consider them together.
Red currants are one of the most beautiful fruits. When the berries are ripe, the plant literally drips with long clusters of gleaming scarlet beads. Each red berry (white currants are just different varieties of the red currant) has a transparent skin, so sunlight makes it glow from within. Currants are very juicy and quite tart. When fully ripe, they are enjoyable out of hand the way you would eat any other berry. Traditionally, currants are used for jelly, jam, and cooked desserts. Ripe currants will hold on the bush for much longer than most other fruits without dropping or losing quality.
Black currant bushes are slightly larger than red currants, and the fruits are not so conspicuous. Black currants are meatier, less juicy, and eaten fresh they're definitely an acquired taste. Cooked, however, they lose their musky overtones and make one of the finest flavored jams of all.
Blackberries
Blackberry culture began in North America, although there are fine-flavored species native to Europe and Asia. Today's improved varieties have mixed heritage, part American natives and part Eurasian species. Blackberries are far and away the heaviest bearing of the bramble fruits, producing about twice as much as red raspberries. They ripen in mid-summer after the raspberries are finished, and are more heat tolerant than raspberries.
Blackberries are robust plants that need to be restrained or they can become weeds. They grow and can be trained very much like red raspberries. However, since they throw root suckers so vigorously, you may want to confine their roots with metal or fiberglass barriers sunk a foot or more below ground level. Blackberries are much more thorny than reds or blackcaps. Where space is restricted, or if you don't have the patience to pick a prickly plant, choose the new thornless varieties. Many of these are limber-stemmed and trailing in habit, so you'll need to rig a wire trellis to train them up.
Blueberries
Blueberries are really a new fruit, domesticated only within the last 75 years. They probably would have been tamed sooner if people had understood their need for an acid soil. Brought from the American wilds into gardens, the fruits almost always died because the soil had been limed. Blueberries demand a soil pH between 4.0 and 5.5. Correct the pH for blueberries with peat moss (mixed at least 50/50 with your native earth) and perhaps some soil sulfur, and the plants will do well over most of North America. The bushes have extremely shallow root systems, so the heavy peat blend need not be deeper than 12 inches. Blueberries need a steady supply of moisture; the water-retentive peat will help with that as well.
One blueberry bush is all you need. In its fourth season it will produce a pint or so of fruit. At maturity, when it's grown four to six feet tall, the right variety can produce up to 20 pints over two to three weeks. However, if you've room for three or four varieties, you can stretch the harvest to eight to 10 weeks, into the fall raspberry season. Although cross-pollination isn't essential, it will encourage larger fruit. Blueberries are extremely handsome shrubs, notable for their brilliant fall color and bright stems in winter. Some of the newer varieties are low and shrubby, 18 to 24 inches tall. Keep them away from masonry walls and foundations, where the soil can be excessively alkaline. But they're excellent among other ornamental shrubs (if the soil's suitable) or by themselves in an informal hedge. When a branch stops producing fat flower buds in fall, it's time to cut it out at ground level. That's all the pruning blueberries need.
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