Intercropping - your path to success in the garden

Intercropping is one of the most interesting modern trends in gardening – it is the cultivation of many kinds of plants on one big expanse, influencing vermin or upgrading some plant species by their proximity.

The most important ways of mixing plants are:

• Grouping slow-growing plants with the fast-growing ones

• Putting together plants with shallow roots with others that extract from deeper layers of soil

• Sharing of the space by plants of different heights

• Natural pest control achieved by carefully selecting neighbouring plants

• Fertilizing and strengthening the properties of one kind of plants by well planned neighbouring ones.

One of the biggest perks of intercropping is space-saving. It is especially convenient in small gardens, where it enables much better crops and adds some extra space for even more plants. It is almost as if the planting space was multiplied by two.

Neutralizing the danger of land impoverishment is another plus of this method – planting different species of plants together makes the distribution of minerals in the soil more even and diverse, as various species require them in different amounts. In a limited way, the garden starts to resemble a natural meadow, where many organisms co-exist and the soil is self-regenerating. Although it is not quite the same with intercropping, since the gardener has to fertilize his small field to gain rich crops, the situation resembles the natural state than demarcating straight, neat beds.

The best neighbors in intercropping are:

• Spinach – lettuce, carrot, strawberry, cabbage, radish, kohlrabi;
• Bean – potato, carrot, cabbage, cucumber;
• Lettuce – radish, carrot, onion, garlic, strawberry, cucumber, spinach;
• Radish – carrot, spinach, lettuce, parsley, chive, cabbage, bean;
• Carrot – lettuce, pea, radish, leek, fennel, garlic, onion, tomato;
• Onion – carrot (pest protection), leek, radish, celery, beet, strawberry, fennel, parsley;
• Garlic – carrot, cucumber, tomato, strawberry and flowers such as lilies, roses and tulips (pest protection)
• Pea – carrot, chicory, fennel, lettuce, cucumber, kohlrabi;
• Broad bean – carrot, chicory, fennel, lettuce, cucumber, kohlrabi;
• Strawberry – garlic, onion, spinach, lettuce;
• Corn – potato, pea, bean, cucumber, pumpkin, cucurbit, wheat;
• Cucumber – bean, corn, pea, radish, sunflower, broad bean, garlic, lettuce;
• Potato – bean, corn, cabbage, horseradish, flax.

You should not put together:

• Bean – onion, common garlic, gladiolus;
• Potato – pumpkin, cucurbit, cucumber, sunflower, tomato, corn-poppy, white pigweed;
• Beet – bean, white mustard;
• Carrot – fennel;
• Cabbage – strawberry, tomato, bean;
• Cucumber – potato, fragrant herbs.

While planning this year’s sowing and planting in vegetable gardens, it is good to consider how to match advantageous plants together. Practical aspect aside, the garden presents itself as much more charming when instead of big blocks of one species planted on adjoining beds we can see an intertwining pattern of many plants growing on neighboring beds or in a straight row. Now, before the beginning of the season, you can still plan bringing this improvement to life, as later on it might become logistically impossible. It is time to try out the advantages of intercropping!

Article source: Intercropping - your path to success in the garden

[Amandabhslater , ccharmon]

A Word About Flower Gardens

Spring is in full bloom and it is about time to do something nice in the garden. And what might emphasize the beautiful season more than a lovely flower garden? Creating a beautiful flowery space is not as difficult as one might think. Although it takes some careful planning, it pays off when everything is ready and blooming with colours.

The outline of an idea

Where to begin? Before you go on a frenzy of looking for specific flowers, think carefully what exactly is on your mind. Should the garden be neat and organized, or wild and natural? Look up some pictures of already existing gardens for inspiration. How much would you like to spend on the project? The budget might become a problem if you wish for your garden to look like an exotic oasis. And while spending thousands on expensive plants brings extraordinary effects, it might become problematic when a struggle to it them healthy and good looking whenever it gets too cold or too wet. More simple, natural ideas are not only much more favourable to the wallet, they are also easier to maintain and very natural.

A garden plan

When you have the idea formed in your head, it is good to visualize it. Use a chequered paper sheet to draw a plan of you garden. It is best to use a 1:40 scale, where 1 inch corresponds with 40 inches in reality. Even if the garden is small and you will not be dividing it into sections and the space will be filled with a flower mix, it is still good to create such plan. It will be a great help when it comes to estimating seeds and seedling quantities.

Useful tips

You should remember some simple rules, it is good to consider them while you’re still in the concept part of your garden-creating. Expansive flowers should not be planted next to the slowly growing ones. Also, many flowers virtually disappear after they shed blossom. They should be placed next to ones that have extensive leaves which will cover the empty spaces then or are in full bloom for a longer period, like annual flowers. If your garden is not very big, you shouldn’t plant big or high flowers, they will take a lot of space and make the whole garden look smaller. The short flowers should be planted in front, while the higher one should occupy the back – nothing will get covered and there will be a sense of harmony created that way.

It is always a good idea to have some decorative perennials planted around the garden, even if they have no inflorescence. They will provide color throughout the whole season and blend in nicely, giving your garden a natural look.

If you will keep that in mind when crating the plan and while planting, you will be able to create a wonderful garden. But remember that this is not the end. A nice garden is a well maintained garden. Remember to keep an eye on weeds, to fertilize and water. That way, you will enjoy your flowerbeds for many seasons.

From Liveoutside blog: A word about flower gardens

[photo by: Rosino]

10 Benifits Of A Garden Room

Image by jo-h via Flickr

From talking to business owners on the topic of working from home, opinion is somewhat divided. Supporters claim that working from home is the best option: there’s no travel to work, no office politics. While on the opposing side of the debate others say they just can’t focus on work at home. They are a bit reluctant to invite clients to their home, fearing it creates a poor impression. They may find there are too many distractions around home to get on with their work.

There is a choice which will suit all workers: the garden building. Garden Offices/studios are installed in your own back garden, yet remain separate from your house. A garden office offers you the dedicated space to get work done in a comfortable, creative space, with oxygen producing foliage all around, and is a neutral location in which to conduct meetings. The idea that the garden office is separate from your house is a crucial one. It gives you a chance to break away from home life to business life. Modern technology like wireless or VOIP allows you to easily obtain a different phone number just for the office.

1. COST. Garden offices are very affordable when you consider the alternative business rent and rates expense; the purchase cost is an acceptable business tax allowance and the room can be built on a mobile frame – to take with you if you move. Compared to a traditional extension, studios win again on cost, time and disruption.

2. VALUE. They add value to your property so the cost is never lost. Garden offices can recoup their cost in as little as two years. Repayments on a loan for a garden studio are often comparable, or cheaper than, office rental costs.

3. ECO. Garden offices are environmentally friendly when sourced from a reputable company. The commute from home to garden takes only natural footprints, not carbon ones; the best designs have been responsibly sourced and offer eco upgrades like sedum planting or solar panels. High density insulation makes them thermally efficient, so there will be no excessive heating or cooling costs. Finished with a fully glazed south facing wall, natural light is maximized. These measures substantially reduce the building’s energy use.

4. TIME. You can conduct business at anytime. Creativity is not a commodity and cannot be turned on and off so if you have a new idea, walk into the garden office and set it free, anytime. Add up the time saved on the hour’s journey to your former place of work and you have dedicated an extra 20 days each year to spend as you wish!

5. QUALITY. It’s a warm, well-lit, natural environment. No bright fluorescent strips, grey walls and white-noise of stale offices. No annoying traffic jams en route or crisp-crunchers at the next desk.

6. VERSATILITY. It affords a versatile space which could double as a guest room. Many offices are available with partitions for toilet/shower rooms and kitchenettes.

7. ADDED INTEREST WHEN MOVING HOUSE. As an asset to your home it provides the perfect lifestyle showcase to potential buyers, as a home cinema, games room, play room, teenage den or hobby room. People are delighted to exceed their neighbour’s valuations by £10,000 - £20,000.

8. ATTACHABILITY. Few select companies have gone that extra step to achieve BBA accreditation on the structure of their buildings. Those who have can offer to attach their products to an existing building – allowing a fast and affordable extension option.

9. SPEED. Garden buildings all take less time to finish than the same size of a traditionally built extension. Many include a service where the studio is put together remotely then craned into place, offering an instant extra room. This service is very costly and such companies tend to skimp on the specifications of the building, like the thermal qualities or the guarantee offered, to bring their product in on budget to the competitive market. Generally, a flat-pack modular building will be completed in less than 3 weeks. Compare that to the traditional method of building and there is a significant reduction in the dirt, dust, mud and general disruption that traditional building inevitably brings.

10. LIFESTYLE. As THE home improvement of the moment, there are some gorgeous designs out there which will allow you to enjoy your garden more and live in a more flexible way. Some days you may choose to have that dedicated time in your studio to perfect a new solution and some days you may feel up to bracing the early traffic to attend a meeting but the CHOICE is now yours. Come the weekend, pull out the studio’s sofa-bed and have friends stay; although you did not have the space for them before, the studio is perfect in terms of privacy and comfort.

By: jewel

Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

For more information about garden offices visit Studioni the UK supplier of sustainable garden rooms

Gardens - A Place For Meditation

Image by bill barber (still ill) via Flickr

Beautiful house need a beautiful garden - they make a perfect match all together. Professional designed garden is not only a great pleasure for our eyes but also a great heritage for our children. And the garden will present passions, dreams and temper of its owner.

Good garden is the one where plants and people feel comfortable with each other. To make it a good match it is very important to do this professional - know garden owner character, preferences. Well designed garden is not only beautiful but also functional and is not a problem for people who take care of it. So it is important to think also about its placement, type of soil, is it sunny.

There are many things that we can look at when talking about functionality, and one of them is type of plants that we use and structure of the garden. We can talk here about symmetrical, asymmetrical, geometrical, regular and combined gardens - the last one have more than one specific elements in its structure.

Next thing that would have a great impact on our garden would be its climate that we would like to have it designed in. Modern science even in garden design has many things to offer - many styles that might match our character, temper and individual needs and to make us feel good in there. Our garden appearance would depend on the appearance of the our house. We can inspire here with nature and make the garden in few styles - stone garden, flower garden or just cottage or modern one.

Garden should be a special place for us, a place were we could leave everything behind, spend wonderful time with our friends, family or just with ourselves thinking about the wonders of nature and our beautiful garden. It should makes us feel better and even become a better person. So don't hesitate - think about improving your garden even during the winter or autumn time!

To make your garden look beautiful you might need an original gazebos or great summerhouses - all you can find at the Liveoutside.co.uk site!