Home And Garden Guide Online » Native Plants – Garden Guide http://homeandgardenguideonline.com The Ultimate Home And Garden Guide On The Net Sat, 16 Apr 2011 04:17:10 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1 How to Set up an Inexpensive Irrigation System http://homeandgardenguideonline.com/how-to-set-up-an-inexpensive-irrigation-system http://homeandgardenguideonline.com/how-to-set-up-an-inexpensive-irrigation-system#comments Mon, 01 Jun 2009 10:16:12 +0000 admin http://homeandgardenguideonline.com/?p=595 If you’re like us here at Home And Garden Guide Online…

…we’re always looking for a way to save money and at the same time reduce our carbon footprint as much as possible.

I personally went on a quest to locate information for my very own garden in conjunction to drip watering systems and irrigation systems.

water-wheel-irrigation-systemAs usual I went on one of my loooong research projects and even though I got into some really neat, old, and some what elaborate systems…

…Here’s one of several ideas I came across for review and referral.  Hope you like it and get some good tips from it and other suggested links below.

How to Set up an Inexpensive Irrigation System

from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit

Are you looking to maintain a lovely garden, but you're not sure when, or how much to water? Or perhaps you just forget to water, and all your hard work wilts or dies? Here is a simple and relatively inexpensive way to solve your watering dilemma.

Steps

  1. Purchase a faucet hose timer. These items can be bought for as little as USD $15.
  2. Put in fresh batteries at the beginning of each growing season.
  3. Attach the timer to an outdoor spigot.
  4. Attach your feeder hose to the timer.
  5. At the end of your feeder hose, attach a hose manifold or multiple line splitters to accommodate the number of soaker hoses or sprinkler heads you need.
  6. Test your set up by turning the faucet on, turning the timer on, and checking to be sure water is coming out where you need it to.
  7. Adjust the stop valves as necessary to regulate the flow of water.
  8. Set the timer. The inexpensive ones give you several options such as half an hour twice a day, or an hour once a day, etc. The expensive ones allow you to be much more precise in when and how long you are watering.
  9. Observe the next few days of watering cycles to be certain everything is working as planned.
    • Note:If using sprinkler heads, you can use the method described in How to Calibrate Your Sprinklers to make sure your plants are getting the right amount of water.
  10. Relax, knowing you can leave for extended periods of time without worrying about whether your plants will be alive when you return.

Tips

  • Some people use "regular" garden hose with nail holes at intervals in lieu of a soaker hose. This works fairly well for a long row of bushes, for example, with holes poked in the hose only at the base of each successive bush.
  • A soaker hose can be placed under mulch for even better water utilization and savings.

Related wikiHows

Article provided by wikiHow, a wiki how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Set up an Inexpensive Irrigation System. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.


Related Home And Garden Guide Online Articles:

 Mail this post]]> http://homeandgardenguideonline.com/how-to-set-up-an-inexpensive-irrigation-system/feed 0 Native Plants – Flower Garden Guide http://homeandgardenguideonline.com/native-plants-flower-garden-guide http://homeandgardenguideonline.com/native-plants-flower-garden-guide#comments Wed, 20 May 2009 14:24:03 +0000 admin http://homeandgardenguideonline.com/?p=263 Planning a flower garden using native plants has its benefits and beauty

In our last essay we talked about tips, tricks and ideas for a flower garden. Gardens based on a flower only design are nice and work well for most of our interested readers but the are not the only way to achieve ones desired attraction for “flower gardening.”

native-plantNative plants make for a nice sustainable garden and a native garden guide should be considered as it will make it easy to design a lovely garden of this type.

climate-changesClimate changes affect almost everyone in the world. Water shortages are common and in some regions, your water usage may even be restricted.

It’s becoming more difficult to have that lush tropical garden in drought areas. There are many excellent and comprehensive plant guides which include most plants, but which may not readily survive in your garden.

Maybe it’s time to rethink your garden plans, with an eye to beautiful beds filled with native plants. Regional native plant guides are limited to flowers, grasses and other ornamentals and wildflowers which are adapted to your garden’s environment and seasonal changes.

Find a Native plant guides that offers many entries from which you may choose to create a new display of flowers which will thrive and hang tough in harsh conditions you may experience in your area on a yearly basis.

Not only these native plants thrive, but they’ll require less maintenance. After all, native plants flourished in the area before there were any gardeners to water them!

While native plants will survive even when neglected, a little pruning, trimming and dead-heading in your flower beds will keep your garden looking like the ones in the garden magazines.

Another advantage in using native plants to design your landscaping is that, while a more exotic species may fall prey to a local pest, native plants are typically more resistant, which reduces your workload considerably and results in a more beautiful garden.

Native plant guides give you the full particulars of the plant’s physical characteristics, growing and soil conditions and every other detail you may need to know.

Look for plant guides which include photos. This makes it easy to find plants which catch your eye, appeal to your taste and help you to coordinate desirable color themes.

As you discover those perfect native plant candidates which will fit beautifully in a certain location, consult your local nursery for any comments and advice they might have concerning specific varieties which may do best in your garden.

Search around on the net for regional nurseries which stock less common native plants.

Here’s some popular examples:

prickly-pear-cactusPrickly pear cactus it bears large, beautiful pink flowers in spring, may not be available at your neighborhood nursery, but you’ll be able to find sources online. This plant can make a spectacular center piece. Make sure to use sandy soil.

No matter what area of the country you live in, you can find a native plant guide, just chock full of choices to suit your purposes.

As you can see, with a little imagination you can create that dream flower garden in any location with any conditions.

 Mail this post]]> http://homeandgardenguideonline.com/native-plants-flower-garden-guide/feed 4