Composting

To save on waste and provide a nutritious soil amendment for your garden, consider making a home compost pile. This is a good way to recycle precious nutrients back into the earth. To make a compost pile that will break down quickly to form finished compost, you will need:

* Green materials, such as grass clippings, vegetable trimmings, and weeds. Green waste is high in nitrogen and helps heat up the compost pile fast.

* Brown materials, including dry leaves, straw and woody brush. Brown material is high in carbon.

* Enough moisture to keep the compost pile as damp as a wrung out sponge.

* Air to help build up more heat so that the material will decompose faster.

* A source of good bacteria to help break down the compost. A scoop of garden soil should be all you need, but you can also buy a compost activator.

Put all of your ingredients together in a pile of four to five cubic feet. A pile of this size heats up quickly in the center, reaching up to 140 degrees Farenheit. Turn your compost pile regularly to help it break down evenly.

How to Plant a Tree

Here are five steps to the successful planting of a tree.

* Put the tree in place and look at it. Walk around the tree. Turn it so its best side is facing toward your view. Make sure the trunk is straight.

* Check the root level. Lay a long piece of board or hoe handle across the hole. The top of the rootball, or the spot where there is a color change on the trunk of a bare root tree, is where the soil should reach. Planting too deep or shallow can kill a tree.

* Fill the hole halfway with soil. Gently step on it. Step back and make sure the tree has not tipped. Gently fill the hole with water, and let it soak in. Check the tree again and add soil up to the proper level.

* Create a shallow berm around the tree. For the next year or so, whenever the weather is dry, fill the berm repeatedly, until no more water soaks in.

* Spread one to three inches of mulch over the planting hole. This is enough to keep weeds down and conserve moisture. Do not mulch any deeper than this. Mulch applied too thick can invite rodents and other pests.

Hybrid and Non-Hybrid Vegetable Seeds

When you order vegetable seeds, you may have the choice between hybrids and non-hybrids. Hybrid vegetable seeds tend to be more reliable because they have been produced in conditions that are controlled. This means they may be more resistant to diseases and more productive. Non-hyrbids are also known as “open-pollinated” varieties or heirloom varieties. Of the two, hybrids are thought to be the more trustworthy. However, there are gardeners who do insist on only using non-hybrids year after year.

Care for Your Daylilies in the Winter

Daylily bulbs are very hardy and do not require very much attention. However, you may want to provide your daylilies with a winter mulch. These winter mulches should not be soft in nature, as you do not want them to mat down or flatten. The best winter mulches for daylilies are straw, hardwood leaves, or hay. A layer of six inches of winter mulch works well for mature daylilies. Newly planted, or transplanted, daylilies benefit from having a foot of mulch added to their growing sites.

How to Plant Rose Bushes

Rose bushes need plenty of sun and fertile soil to grow well. To plant rose bushes, you should:



1. Dig a hole a few inches deeper than the rose's root ball.



2. Add several inches of rich compost and well rotted manure to the planting hole.



3. Place your rose bush in the planting hole and fill the hole with topsoil.



4. Water the rose well to remove any air pockets.

Flower Colors and Dried Arrangements

Many people want to know which colors work best in dried flower arrangements. To put it simply, it is a matter of opinion. One person may prefer colors of blue and white, while another person may prefer white and yellow, or another combination.

There are no rights and wrongs when making a dried flower arrangement. You are only limited by your own imagination.

However, there are some color tips you may want to keep in mind when planning an arrangement. Flowers which are bright yellow, orange, pink and blue preserve the best. Red and purple flowers tend to become a shade or two darker than their original color, while white flowers may take on a buff or tan tone.