elise's Blog

Dead wood
Apr 4, 2007 | 4:59 PM PST
Tags: dead , wood , tree , fallen , storm , woodpecker , pruning , logs , insects , birds

What to do with large pruned branches, old dead trees, and trees killed by snow and wind:

The key is to keep dead wood in your yard. It might no longer produce nice leaves or flowers or fruits, but dead wood makes a great hideout, nesting area, and food source for bugs, birds, and small mammals.

If you have a dead tree standing in your yard, and it's far enough from your house to not pose a risk for fire or falling on the house, the best thing to do is to leave it there. Bugs and grubs will seek it out and the tree will eventually become a natural woodpecker feeder. If the tree appears to have died from a disease, check with a local arborist to make sure the wood can't spread the disease to nearby living plants.

If you have large branches lopped of from a pruning project, find somewhere in your yard to place the branch(es) on the ground. Best practice is to partially submerge one end into soil to speed up the decomposition process while leaving the other end out in the air. Be wary of stacking many logs in a heap - this can be a danger to children playing and can also be a good home for rats. It's better to disperse the dead wood.

Large logs can be incorporated into landscaping features such as benches and steps while smaller branches can work well as plot dividers and path edging.

Trees knocked down by weather can be left in place or chopped up and spread throughout the yard, or consider leaving the trunk and removing the smaller branches which take up the most space.

Nature to the max!
Apr 4, 2007 | 4:19 PM PST
Tags: wildlife , garden , design , plan , vegetables , habitat , flowers , native , birds , animals , bugs , insects

Here are some ideas about how to make your garden the most rewarding place to be for yourself and for wildlife.

1. Think about how you typically walk to your house and what parts of your garden you spend time looking at every day, walking by and looking out your windows. These areas will become your visual focus areas. The rest of the yard can become devoted to fruits, vegetables, compost, and wildlife habitat.

2. Plant your visual focus areas with all your most beautiful plants and with plants that grow fruits you can pick as you pass by every day. Remember that even garden areas designed for visual appeal can be made beautiful using native plants that provide nectar, seed and fruit for wild birds and insects.

3. Section off more remote areas of your yard for dense, native-only plantings to give your critter friends a place to feel safe when they visit your garden.

4. Keep your veggies clustered together so the extra watering they require won't be wasted on other plants that don't need it.

5. Find a corner of your yard where you can pile all your pulled weeds and prunings for compost. This spot should be easily accessible but out of sight from your normal paths. If you live in a temperate climate you can mix your non-greasy food waste in with your yard compost and within a year the bottom of the pile will become fresh, nutritious compost to feed your flower beds. If you use this instead of store-bought fertilizers you will cut the risk of poisoning the wildlife you want to invite to your yard.

Tips: Before buying plants, research the native birds, mammals, and insects of your area. Find out what they like to eat and live in. Remember that birds often come to plants to eat the insects which are attracted to those plants.

Taking care of orchids
Apr 4, 2007 | 3:51 PM PST
Tags: orchid , plant , grow , water , fertilizer , feed , indoor

Here's how I water and feed my indoor orchids:

1. Let the growing medium dry out between watering to discourage mold.

2. Water once about every 7-10 days, depending on the humidity level of the air. During the winter and summer when the indoor air is dry from sun or the heater, I water more often. In the fall and spring when everything is more damp and mildly warm I water less frequently.

3. When watering, I spray the growing medium  and roots with a spray bottle until the water starts coming out the bottom of the pot.

4. I use orchid fertilizer every time I water, but diluted to 1/4 of the strength recommended on the fertilizer bottle.

Tips: If the leaves get limp or wrinkly, water more often. If the leaves look brown and dried at the tips, use less fertilizer. If you see flower buds but they dry up and fall off before blooming, give the plant more water.

Growing tomatoes from seed
Apr 4, 2007 | 3:42 PM PST
Tags: tomato , seed , grow , propogate , start

This is how I like to start my tomato plants from seed:

1. Save some seeds from tomatoes going bad in the fridge.

2. Plant the seeds just under the top of the soil in a tray of dirt (or small containers) about 2 inches deep.

3. Place the tray / pots by a sunny window, any exposure will do

4. Water frequently to keep the soil damp but not wet

5. When the seedlings are 1-2 inches tall replant / spread out any that are less than 2 inches apart

6. When the weather gets warm and the plants are at least 4 inches tall, plant them outside in a sunny spot

Tips: If you can, transition them to living outside by planting them when you think it will be warm but cloudy for a few days so they don't sunburn, and if there is a lot of slug or snail activity in your planting bed, wait till the plants are at least 8 inches tall before moving them outside