I may have a solution for you though, if you plan on growing a small garden to sustain a small family, pot gardening may be the answer! Pot gardening provides opportunities to keep your precious fruits and vegetables out of the hot summer Florida sun when it has become to much for the plants. This form of gardening also enables you to keep your plants off the ground, which will aid in keeping many of the bugs away from your crops.

If you have already started your spring garden, but you haven’t gotten everything that you wanted to grow in the ground, use pots for the things that you haven’t started yet. There are many advantages to have both a pot garden and a ground garden!

1. Water your lawn before a hard freeze occurs. Watering adds an insulation period; a dry freeze will do a lot of damage to a lawn overnight.

2. Clean out an area in your home and bring any potted plants that you have outside inside. Any plants outside that can’t be brought into the house need to be covered up. Make certain that you use a rock or something to hold the sheets and blankets down so that they won’t blow in those winds that accompany a cold front.

3. Another idea is to get your Christmas lights up and around some of your plants! The large outside lights can add some heat to your outside plants.

Remember, during these cold months, your plants need to stay warm, just like you!

The biggest trauma that a plant has to face during the winter months is the lack of water. Winter is 3 hard months of no water for plants here in Hernando and Citrus Counties. Although, plants need a lot less water when they are dormant for the winter, they still need plenty of it. New plantings will suffer the most. Trees are still considered “new” until they reach three or four years and shrubs up to two years. The root system of these “new” trees is still so close to the surface they have not penetrated into the ground to find a more stable source of water.

Mulch is a great way to keep moisture in the ground. When we do get a freeze, mulch will help keep the soil from freezing too deep. This will help the water run into the ground to the roots, instead of running off the top soil when the ground thaws out.

Save all your fertilizing until the spring. It would seem to make sense to fertilize heavy in the fall to help boost the plants growth during the winter; however the new roots won’t be strong enough to survive the winter months. A light, rich soil, such as compost, will help keep the moisture in the plants nicely.

Keep up with the weather and be sure to cover your plants the night before a freeze. This will help keep your plants protected from the cold winds.

Following these simple instructions should help to ensure that you will continue to have a beautiful yard once spring comes around again.

The perfect winter cover crop for the Hernando and Citrus areas of Florida is legumes, such as clovers and field peas. Cereal grains such as oats, rye or wheat are also sufficient. Be sure to start your seed planting directly after harvesting.

Creating a cover crop is simple, start by working the soil with a garden rake, sprinkle your seed over the soil and rake it in again. Keep your cover crop watered and mowed down, this will increase the root growth. Before the crop seeds and top growth gets out of control, it is time to kill your crop! Take a weed eater to your crop and than wait a few days. When the leaves and stems start to get dry, start turning the soil. Wait a few more weeks before planting your next crop of vegetables.

Planting your cover crops in between your fruits and vegetables is not only easy, it will make for a much healthier garden for the next season!

Take the plant out of its original pot, check to see if there is any root damage and gently break up the root ball. This will allow the roots ample room to grow.

When picking out the pot for your plant, try to increase the size of the pot by at least 50 percent. Fill the new pot approximately 2/3 will good quality potting soil. Place the plant in the middle of the pot and add more potting soil to fill up the pot. Here’s the tricky part! Be sure that there are no air pockets surrounding the root ball and that the potting soil is not too compacted or you could find yourself creating the same problem that you had with the plant to begin with!

Once the plant is repotted, be sure to keep it nice and watered over the next week and add a little extra nourishment. Liquid fertilizer or some bone meal should do the trick.

During the next week, you should see a miraculous come back with your plant.

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Easy Steps to Container Gardening in Citrus and Hernando Counties

There is an ancient tradition that corresponds the planting times with the moon phases. It is believed that plants respond with the gravitational pull of the moon just like the tides. The lunar phases would control the moisture in the soil like it does with the oceans.

During the first quarter, the lunar gravity is pulling the water up which would cause the seed to burst. This is a good time for planting above ground leafy plants that seeds outside of the fruit such as cauliflower, lettuce, spinach, celery, and broccoli.

At the second quarter moon phase the moonlight is stronger but the gravitational pull has lessened. During this time the moon creates strong leaf growth. This is the time for above ground plants that seeds inside of the fruit such as beans, melons, tomatoes and squash. During this quarter it is also a good time for mowing your lawn.

After the full moon, during the third quarter the gravitational pull is strong, but the moonlight is fading, which puts energy into the root of the plant. This is the time for planting root vegetables such as beets, onions, potatoes and carrots. Bulbs also benefit during this time of the moon phase.

During the fourth quarter the gravitational pull and the moonlight are waning. This is the best time for harvesting, pruning and cultivating.

At the time of the full moon and the new moon the tides are the highest. This is the case with all moisture in the earth, creating the best time for seed planting, as seeds will absorb the most water during these times.

The moon is currently in the second quarter, time to plant those melons!

When choosing your containers you are only as limited as your imagination. From tires, apple barrels, old tin garbage cans and terra cotta pots, you can turn almost anything in a breathtaking garden. There are only a few things to keep in mind when choosing your containers. Wooden containers can rot, therefore choose either redwood or cedar as they are relatively resistant to rot and they can be used naturally. Use good nutrient enriched soil and be certain that your container has drainage holes to avoid root rot. When planting in hanging baskets line them with sphagnum moss to hold in water and keep the baskets out of the afternoon sun.

Container gardening is a fantastic way to bring plant life into your apartment that does not give the option for traditional gardening.

Most roses are easily rooted from cuttings but since each variety is different, there is a plastic bag method that seems to work well every time! Take a gallon-size zip-lock bag, and put approximately three inches of a seed starting mixture in the bottom of the bag. To take a cutting from your rose bush, measure approximately three inches from the tip of the stem downward. Make sure that you remove any buds, flowers and all the lowest leaves. Dip the cut ends of the stems into a rooting powder than place the cutting in the seed starting mixture in the zip-lock bag. Fill the bag with air and seal it up, place in a warm spot but not in direct sunlight. Once you start to see the roots grow, add a little bit of water and let the cuttings grow for around another week or so. Once your cutting is ready to be potted, introduce sunlight to it gradually.

Viola! You have now successfully brought a little bit of your old home to mix with the new!

The word bonsai is a Japanese word meaning ‘pot plant’, it’s history dates back thousands of years. There are two types of bonsai trees, tropical and temperate. A tropical bonsai cannot withstand the cold temperatures and needs to be protected from the frost. Temperate bonsia’s can withstand the cold but they have shallow roots, so they do need to be somewhat protected.

Bonsai’s can be grown from either a cutting or from seed. No.. there is no such thing as a Bonsai seed! Bonsai is the name of the art, not the name of a tree. You can use any seed from any tree, however varieties with small leaves are the best suited for trays. These trees are kept small by training and pruning the branches into different styles. There are five common styles of bonsai trees, formal upright, informal upright, slanting style, cascade and semi-cascade.

Although, all styles are beautiful, my favorite is the informal upright. When looking at trees grown in nature, they tend to sway away from shade, buildings, or toward light. When growing an informal upright bonsai tree, the trunk will slightly bend and twist in one direction or the other, giving the tree a dramatic effect. Japanese Maples, Beech or any conifers will do well with this type of style.

Bonsai’s do require quite a bit of commitment, but if cared for properly, they can provide beauty in the home that can last for hundreds of years. They are something for your future generations to enjoy and continue to pass down to the next generations.

Ok..what’s a Lychee? I hear you.. A Lychee is a fruit with a bumpy rind a little smaller than an apricot, inside that rind is white or pink, sweet, juicy flesh that is an incredible add to a fruit cocktail, tea, marinade, salad or just by itself as a snack. The amount of recipes that include Lychees are endless. They are a great source of Vitamin C, calcium, potassium and phosphorus. In the herbology world, they are a used to cure a cough and for any digestive problems.

As the Lychee is not a citrus tree it is not susceptible to the diseases that attack citrus crops, and are a great replacement or an alternative to citrus. They do not have a limited lifespan, there are a few Lychee trees in China that are over 1000 years old, however they do tend to stop bearing fruit after 25-30 years. If grown organically, they will thrive for years to come. Keeping your tree mulched and composted will maintain the health of your tree. The fruit will not ripen after picked so make certain that you only take the ripe ones and use them quickly as they have a short shelf life.