How to grow radish like a pro?

Radishes are one of the most liked vegetables because of their crunchy texture and spicy flavour. 

Radishes are one of the easiest vegetables to grow. Although they are very easy to grow, we encounter some common problems while growing radishes. In this section, we will see about growing radishes right from the seeds and the various tips to grow radish like a gardening pro. In addition, we will also see about the companion plants that can be grown along with radish in our home garden. 

The first thing that we will see is how to start radish plants from seeds. 

* Soil for growing radishes must be loose and adding compost, dried leaves and grass will improve soil fertility. The soil must also be consistently moist for the good growth of roots. Drought or dry conditions will make the growth of radish tough due to soil crusting and will also alter the flavour. 
* The seeds must be spaced half-inch deep and one inch apart. 
* Optimal growth of radish requires full sun and light shade is toleratable at times. 
* Radish mature quickly and will be ready to harvest within 4 to 5 weeks. 

Let's see few tips for better growth of radish:

1. Practice succession planting by sowing radish seeds every 7 to 10 days, for continual harvest. 
2. When the soil becomes crusty, break it and loosen it by adding some water. 
3. Several radish varieties can be planted together for enhanced growth of radishes. 
4. A tip to know the maturity of the radish roots is to look out for the bulged tops that push themselves out of the soil as they near maturity.
5. For radishes with their best taste and flavor, harvest them immediately after they mature, because the longer they stay in the ground, the hotter they become. 

Moving onto the next segment, which is fertilizing radishes.

Before you plant the seeds, fertilize the top 2 to 4 inches of the soil with all purpose fertilizer and sow the seeds half an inch deep. 

If you would like to avoid commerical fertilizer add some compost on the top layer. 

The initial fertilizer application is enough for the growth is radishes, but if you would like to enhance the growth, you can go for an addition of nitrogen rich fertilizer in the quantity of 1/4 cup for every ten foot. If you are one who loves to consume the radish foliage also, then this fertilizing option is for you. 

Now, the most important, point is companion planting for radish.

The first factor to consider for companion planting is the time of maturity of the plants. 

Radish is a rapidly maturing plant and so, we can consider co-planting radish with other plants that take up a slower maturity time. For instance, peas, leaf lettuces, tomatoes and peppers, are plants that take more time to mature and so can be grown along with radish. 

The second factor is the co-planting of plants that can benefit from radish. 

Radishes will greatly help to repel cucumber beetles and hence planting cucumber along with radish will increase the yield of both the plants. 

The third factor is planting of plants that will help radish plants. 

Strong smelling herbs such as nasturtium and plants such as onions are excellent companions for radish plants. 

Some plants that should not be planted along with radish are broccoli and hyssop. 

Last tip is that, radishes can also be planted together with flowers and herbs, along the borders of the garden or gardening beds as the rich foliage gives an attractive look along with flowers. 

 

Rarely known 6 highly effective organic weed control for your summer garden.

Most of the times we tend to pull out the seedlings that grow along with the weeds. This is what I did to my little lettuces that was growing inbetween my onions. We either tend to do this either by mistake or our weeder equipment just pulls out the veggie seedlings as it weeds.

But this information that I am going to share here is what I knew only later, after causing much humiliation to my veggie seedlings in the summer garden. 

Remember these important factors in organic weed control: 

1. Critical period of harm: Weeds cause harm to your plants only during the critical period, which is 6 to 8 weeks after sowing or transplanting the veggies. It is only this period of competition by the weeds that causes great harm to the yield. Weeds that grow after this period do not affect your plants but, we must be watchful to prevent the formation of seeds. 

Protip: The weeds that you weed out can also be used back in your garden to increase yield of your vegetable plants. Know how.  

2. Sensitivity to root disturbance: This is another major factor that needs to tbe considered while weeding. If your weeding session causes intense harm to your black peas and beans then they might never recover. Also a slight mangling of vines to the cucumber family may cause great harm to the plants. It will prevent the plants from proper ripening. 

Related article: Highly effective homemade fertilizer for your vegetable plants

3. Plants with their own organic weed control system: The vigorous vining of canopy tend to cause a dense canopy effect to the weeds by shading them and thus turns out to be an effective self weed prevention system. Similarly, the dense green ground cover of the stems of sweet potatoes also tend to form their own weed control. 

Know this: Do you notice these common signs in your plant - Be alert.

You can use such plants strategically in your summer garden to prevent weeds organically. For instance, growing canopy forming crops like squash as a weed suppresser in the bed will also help the plants in the adjoining row by extending it's weed control system to the adjoining rows. These canopy forming plants will also help to retain soil moisture.   

Related article: 5 must know gardening idea and gardening hacks

4. Growing leafy greens as weed controller: Leafy green veggies or herbs such as mustard can be grown in between onions and other veggies. These will shade out the weeds that are growing and will prevent them from flourishing in the critical period. Mustard greens tend to grow out as a natural mulch that is great and great to prevent weeds. In addition to shading out weeds, it enhances the soil greatly and reduces soil borne diseases. 

Related article: Homemade fertilizer rich in Nitrogen and Potassium. 

5. Consider nurse crops: Nurse crops are short term crops that can be grown in the summer gap. These will keep your bed or soil engaged during the summer gap and provide organic weed control until you need the space back for your veggie seedlings. Buckwheat and peas can be excellent nurse crops. Once you want to clear the space for seedlings, just pull out these and use them as mulch on your bed. 

Related article: Want to grow huge amounts of potatoes successfully in containers at home - know this. 

6. Use enhanced mulch system: Using news papers as mulch on the soil or your raised bed is a good option as it tends to keep the weeds out much effectively. You can lay a thick layer of newspaper around the plants and then cover it with a layer of common mulch that you use such as, sawdust, grass clippings, wood chips etc. 

5 Rarely known gardening tips for growing huge quantities of tomatoes

Caring for tomatoes throughout the growing season is highly essential and following these tips will help you maximise the harvest while minimizing effort and work. 

1. Nutrient dense soil - Rich in Phosphorous:

Did you know that tomatoes love nutrient dense soil, especially Phosphorous. Of the NPK fertilizers, Phosphorous is the one that promotes flower and fruit development in addition to sturdy root development. Over feeding tomato plants with Nitrogen fertilizer will promote a lot of  green foliage, but will not encourage flowers and fruits. 

2. pH of the soil matters:

If you are expecting big reaps from your tomato plants, then looking into the soil pH number and maintiang the ideal pH is essential. Maximum nutrient absorption of tomato plant is between 6.2 and 6.5. 

3. Deep and horizontal planting of tomatoes:

Tomato plants unlike other vegetable plants have roots throughout the stem and so, planting the stem deep and horizontal will enhance the growth of the plants, thus increasing yield. 

4. Loosen the roots:

For healthy tomato plants, the roots must be loosened before transplanting it. Most of the time the roots appear entangled and circled inside the container. Before transplanting the plant loosen the root ball and then plant it deep and horizontally. 

5. Always add a companion to your tomato plant:

Never plant tomatoes alone This will increase the pests. A secret tip to reduce pests is to plant them with companion plants such as dill, cilantro, fennell etc.These will provide nectar for the wasps and thus control hornworms that damage tomato plants. Similarly, lowers like alyssum provide nectar for tachnid and syphrid flies which prey on pests such as leaf rooted bugs, whiteflies etc, which harm the tomato plants. 

10 beautiful gardening ideas for home

Creating a beautiful garden is a great passion for almost everyone. Gardening tips and gardening ideas for home are always sought out inorder to give that extra great look to our garden. 

Here are 10 sime tips for a beautiful garden. These garden ideas for home will make your garden look awesome. 

Beautiful gardens appeal to our senses. The colours and immense diversity of design combinations, fragrance, flavours, sounds from birds and insects attracted to the plants and variety of textures.

Go for a drive around your neighbourhood and take notice of the gardens that catch your eye or next time you visit a friend’s garden, be observant and tune in to what you love about it. No doubt they will be applying some design principles and elements that apply whether they are used in art, graphics, building, interior or garden design.

“A garden is a thing of beauty and a job forever.” – Richard Briers

Simple concepts can make a HUGE difference to the enjoyment of your garden space and particularly so, when it is a micro garden. Designers use these principles all over the world to make spaces really stand out and visually beautiful. Less really can be more if you know how.

1. Add flowers or flowering plants

Splashes of colour break up green, provide variety, contrast and focal points. Try sowing both annuals and perennial flowers. e.g. cosmos, hydrangeas, sunflowers and marigolds.

You don’t specifically have to plant flowers though. A wide range of herbs and vegetables have beautiful flowers too. These include: chives (purple), spring onions (white), dill (yellow), thyme (pale pink to purple), basils (white or purple), pineapple sage (red), rosemary (purple), rocket (white), as well as all flowering vegetables and fruits.

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5 must know Gardening Hacks and Gardening Ideas - Gardening for Beginners

Gardening is an evergreen hobby for almost everyone. More and more youngsters are getting interested in gardening, and organic gardening has taken up a new place in the hearts of people. If you are here reading this blog, then definitely you are also one among them looking for some easy gardening hacks or gardening ideas that can help you grow as a successful gardener. If you are looking for some kind of content related to gardening for beginners, then go ahead and read till the end. 

Gardening hack number 1: News papers can help you get rid of the number one gardening enemy - the weeds. 

If you are a gardening beginner, then definitely weeds will be one of the most common gardening problems that you will face. Ofcourse, these are still a hectic problem for those who have been gardening for years together. Here is a simple but highly effective hack that will help you get rid of the weeds in your garden bed. 

Just take a thick layer of newspaper and spread it around your plants just leaving the area of the plants that you have planted. Water it well so that it will not fly away. The thick layer of newspaper will not allow the seeds of the weeds to sprout and grow. 

Other alternatives: Instead of a news paper you can use rice sacks and to add some weight on the rice sacks to stop it from flying. You can just add some sand or gravel on top of it. 

       

Gardening hack number 2: Ants and vaseline, what's the link?

Ants are the next biggest problem in the garden or It might even be inside your house. Vaseline can help you get rid of ants, wondering how? Just dab some vaseline in the ant hole openings, ant’s pathways and places where they hide. Ants and other such insects do not move on the sticky layer.

Gardening hack number 3: See what baby powders can do for your plants.

If you have been into gardening for quite longer, you would have definitely known that Japanese beetles are one among the troubles for your flower and vegetable garden. These can be avoided by just sprinkling some baby powder on the plant leaves. This will keep them away at least till the powder is washed off. 

Gardening idea number 4: Do cats usually tend to spoil your herb garden?

Small herb gardens in your kitchen window sill or in your backyard are the most common place of visit for your cats and these easily tend to mess up your herb garden. To prevent cats, just place some forks around the herb plants just as shown in the picture below.

Gardening idea number 5: Plan out for companion gardening. 

There are certain plants that thrive well when planted close to other plants and there are certain plants that thrive well only when planted alone. For instance, tomatoes, the most commonly grown vegetable at home, tends to thrive well and produce more when planted together with basil. Other companion plants for tomatoes are spinach, carrots, lettuce, onion etc. Here are the enemies for tomatoes and they are, cabbage,potatoes, beets, rosemary etc.