Starting a fun new succulent project? Take a tip from Garden Answer and kick things off with Espoma Organic Cactus Mix, which is made specifically for cactuses and succulents.
https://www.espoma.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Screen-Shot-2020-09-10-at-1.44.27-PM.png9391600Danielle Kirschnerhttps://www.espoma.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/espoma-logo340w-1.pngDanielle Kirschner2020-09-10 13:30:522020-09-10 13:48:31Video: Arranging Succulents in an Urn with Garden Answer
A rainy week calls for an awesome indoor activity like this one! Remember: Anything that contains something is a potential planter. Watch as Laura from Garden Answer makes the most of her old tea tins using Espoma Organic Cactus Mix!
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https://www.espoma.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Screen-Shot-2020-08-28-at-12.51.51-PM.png8621706Danielle Kirschnerhttps://www.espoma.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/espoma-logo340w-1.pngDanielle Kirschner2020-08-28 13:02:002020-08-28 13:02:00Video: Making Tea Tin Arrangements with Garden Answer
https://www.espoma.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Planting-for-Fall.jpg12282318Danielle Kirschnerhttps://www.espoma.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/espoma-logo340w-1.pngDanielle Kirschner2020-08-11 13:52:062020-08-11 15:43:19Video: Planting for Fall
Fall crops already? That’s right! Join Garden Answer and get some great ideas for food crops in the upcoming season.
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https://www.espoma.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Thumbnail-6.jpg10801920Danielle Kirschnerhttps://www.espoma.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/espoma-logo340w-1.pngDanielle Kirschner2020-08-11 13:31:042020-08-11 15:44:10Video: Planting Fall Crops for Harvest with Garden Answer
When planting new trees, don’t forget to add a healthy combination of Espoma Organic Bio-tone and Iron-tone to help them establish fast. Watch the full video with Garden Answer!
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https://www.espoma.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Screen-Shot-2020-08-11-at-12.34.00-PM.png8821736Danielle Kirschnerhttps://www.espoma.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/espoma-logo340w-1.pngDanielle Kirschner2020-08-11 12:40:202020-08-11 12:40:22Video: Planting Maple Trees with Garden Answer!
Are your tomato plants growing out of control? Time to tie them up with Bloom and Grow Radio‘s Tying and Fertilizing Tomatoes video featuring Tomato-tone!
https://www.espoma.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Screen-Shot-2020-08-04-at-2.39.27-PM.png9101766Danielle Kirschnerhttps://www.espoma.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/espoma-logo340w-1.pngDanielle Kirschner2020-08-04 14:44:422024-09-03 15:26:04Video: Tying up & Fertilizing Tomatoes with Bloom and Grow Radio!
A little vitamin boost from Bio-tone Plus before amending your soil is key when planting up a fresh tomato path. More great tips from Bloom and Grow Radio in the full video!
https://www.espoma.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Screen-Shot-2020-08-04-at-2.15.04-PM.png390781Danielle Kirschnerhttps://www.espoma.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/espoma-logo340w-1.pngDanielle Kirschner2020-08-04 14:33:552022-04-12 08:19:01Video: Tomato Planting Tutorial with Bloom and Grow Radio
In this fall episode of Garden Answer, Laura is making leaf mulch from her fallen leaves. It’s a free resource that will help build healthy soil. Instead of going to all the trouble of bagging leaves, recycle them.
She begins by blowing all of her leaves onto an open grassy
area and mulch mowing them. Laura has a
large riding lawn mower but you can get the same results with a regular walk-behind
model. Just go back and forth until the foliage is fairly small and then attach
the bag to suck them up.
Laura wants to enrich the empty raised beds in her vegetable
garden. She pours about two inches of shredded leaves on the top of each one.
Followed by a sprinkling of Espoma’s
organic Blood Meal. She’s creating a
mini compost pile. In summer, grass clippings would provide the nitrogen to
help break down the leaves. Since she isn’t cutting grass anymore, she uses the
blood meal as an organic nitrogen supplement.
Blood meal may keep plant-eating pests away but it can
attract meat-eaters like dogs, raccoons, and possums. If that would be a potential
problem, put the two inches of shredded leaves down and wait until spring to
add Espoma’s organic
Garden-tone.
More leaves? Try making leaf mold. It might sound terrible
but it’s a fantastic soil conditioner. It improves soil structure, helps the soil
retain moisture and creates the perfect habitat for beneficial microbes. Simply
take shredded leaves and pile them up in a wire bin or a quiet corner of the
yard. The following spring you will have the most beautiful, natural-looking
mulch for garden beds. It’s gardeners’ gold.
Here are a few more videos from Garden Answer we hope you
will enjoy:
In this video from Garden Answer, Laura plants a new garden
for her sister–in-law. She has already
outlined the new beds and removed the sod. The next steps are installing a drip
irrigation system by tapping into an old one and marking the spots for the
trees she will be planting.
Drip irrigation emits water at the base of the plants, which
is better for plants than overhead watering. Hard water can leave damaging
build up on foliage and wet leaves can invite diseases. With drip irrigation,
all of the water soaks into the ground and doesn’t evaporate. It’s the most
efficient method of watering.
Irrigation systems take the work out of watering, but it’s
not – set it and forget it. Water needs vary at different times of the year.
Laura is using emitters that deliver one gallon of water per hour, a standard-setting.
She still waters each newly planted tree with the garden hose to make sure the
soil has settled and that there are no air pockets.
Planting in mid-summer isn’t ideal because of the heat, but
it can be done with a tiny bit of extra care and water. Laura always recommends
using Espoma’s
Bio-tone Starter Plus whenever she plants. And, as she points out, it’s
even more important when the plants are stressed, in this case by heat. The
mycorrhizae in Bio-tone helps stimulate root growth to ensure new plants get
maximum water and nutrients from the soil to minimize transplant shock and
loss.
These trees will become the “bones” of her design. She has
taken into account the mature height of the trees so they do not interfere with
the power lines above them or the fire hydrant between them. She has also
chosen narrow varieties of evergreens that will not outgrow their allotted
space in the garden.
Slim Trees for Small Spaces
Weeping White Spruce
An elegant, straight trunked tree with weeping branches. The
needles are green with a bluish tint. A perfect choice for narrow spaces. Hardy
in zones 2-7.
Merlot Redbud
Bright lavender-pink flowers bloom in spring before the
leaves unfurl. Dark purple, glossy foliage stands up to summer heat. Perfect
for smaller landscapes. Hardy in zones 6-9.
‘Baby Blue’ Blue
Spruce
Attractive silvery-blue needles make this spruce standout,
plus it maintains its color throughout the year. The habit is smaller and
narrower than other blue spruce. Hardy in zones 2-8.
‘Hillside’ Upright
Norway Spruce
A narrow, upright form growing to just 10 feet tall in the
first 10 years. Perfect for smaller urban gardens. Dark green needles are
backed by attractive, burnt orange stems. Hardy in zones 3-7.
Columnar Dwarf Mugo
Pine
A narrow, upright form of mugo pine, makes a strong
architectural statement. Will grow to just 8 feet tall. Produces small, yet
ornamental cones. Hardy to zones 2-8.
Here are a few of our other blogs and videos that we think
you’ll enjoy:
Terrariums are beautiful, fun to make and easy to care for. Our
favorite Brooklyn plant expert, Summer Rayne Oakes, guides us through the
process step-by-step in this episode of Plant One on Me.
Summer covers which plants, tools, containers and soil mix you’ll need. Plus, how to water, the number one reason people kill plants.
If this terrarium seems too large to start with, go with a
smaller version.
You don’t need a green thumb for this DIY project, promise.
Getting Started
First of all, choose a glass container. It’s easiest if the
container is big enough to fit your hand inside. Next, choose plants that have
the same kinds of light and water requirements. Check the plant tags to make
sure they’ll be compatible. Generally speaking, terrariums are best in bright,
indirect light. Full sun can be magnified by the glass and burn foliage. Base
the container size on the number of plants you’d like to include.
Tools
Summer uses a set of aquarium tools for her terrariums. It’s
a clever idea because they are extra-long. Having said that, it isn’t really
necessary to buy this type of set when starting out. A long pair of chopsticks
does a great job. She also uses a spoon and a narrow garden trowel. A watering
can with a thin spout is handy to direct the water.
Soil Mix
The soil for terrariums needs to be a light, free draining
mixture. Espoma’s
organic Cactus Mix combined with perlite makes the perfect
blend. If plants are small you can start with a drainage layer of an inch or so
consisting of small rock and or charcoal. In this case, she didn’t use a
drainage layer because the plants were relatively large and would have rooted
into the drainage layer too quickly.
Planting
Add an inch or two of the soil mixture to your glass
container. Play around with the plants until you have an idea of how you’d like
them to look. Every plant won’t be blooming all of the time so choose ones with
different textures and foliage to create the terrariums subtle beauty. Plant
around the edge first, adding soil around the plants as you go. Plant the
centerpiece last.
Watering
Terrariums create their own humidity which means they’ll
need to be watered less frequently than houseplants in pots. Water sparingly
and keep an eye on them. If plants seem to be wilting, water them. As time goes
by, you’ll find the right watering schedule for your terrarium. Once every two
weeks is about average.
Plant List
Here is a list of the plants Summer used in this video:
Monstera siltepcana – light and dark varieties
Peperomia trinervula
Hemigraphis/Strobilanthes alternate
Pilea asp.
Begonia conchifolia
Peperomia caperata
More Information
Here are links to other videos and blog posts we think you
may find interesting:
https://www.espoma.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Espoma-screenshot.png15642872espomahttps://www.espoma.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/espoma-logo340w-1.pngespoma2019-08-06 12:00:062019-08-06 12:01:23How to Plant a Terrarium with Summer Rayne, Homestead Brooklyn