Many of us need things to do to keep us out of trouble so I have resorted to gardening. It's fun and there are so many different things you can do. You can build yourself a get-away, beautify your walkway, compete with your neighbors and most of all spend quality time with your children . Here is a site I think you will enjoy with your children.
http://www.colostate.edu/Depts/CoopExt/4DMG/Children/fun.htm click here.
When I was growing up I watched my mom in the garden but she didn't look like she was having fun until she started throwing rotten tomatoes at us eeeewww... Well she would talk to us about what she was doing and she told us that she would weed the garden and fertilize it. We asked "Mom what is that stuff you are putting down on the ground?" She said "It was fertilizer that I got from a farmer that had chickens" and I think you can guess the rest. Another great fertilizer I just found out about is fish emulsion. My cousin Fred uses it and his garden, the most healthy of all gardens I have ever seen. Go to this site and you can find out alot about fertilizing with different types of stuff...
http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf97789506.tip.html click here.
There are alot of different types of gardens, greenhouse gardens, pond gardens,rock gardens and so on. I love to work in the garden in the yard but it is also fun working in the greenhouse. When you are in a greenhouse it is hot and humid even in the winter. That is if you are fortunate enough to have a very large greenhouse with heat and a water source for misting. I used to go to a man called Mr. Poppel in Mansfield, CT to buy my garden plants and some of my veggies. He had a great greenhouse that I believe he made himself with his family. I learned alot from him by asking questions. He always told me to make sure to feed the soil and watch the temperature and not overwater the plants. This site will show you what you can do with your children and a greenhouse...
http://www.thekidsgarden.co.uk/setting-up-a-greenhouse-with-your-child.html click here.
Did you know you could dry flowers and make crafts with them or make a dried arrangement? Well I have done both. The site I will take you to now will give you information about types of flowers you can dry and also how to dry them...
http://www.gardenguides.com/123-drying-flowers.html click here and have fun.
There are many types of gardens as I said earlier and here is a great website you can visit and learn about the different types of gardens you can have fun building.
http://www.joeant.com/DIR/cat/1916/Types_of_Gardens click here.
There are vegetable gardens
http://www.essentialgardenguide.com/gardening-vegetables.php click here.
There are gardens that have just fruit trees and bushes in it.
http://www.essentialgardenguide.com/gardening-fruits.php click here.
If you just want to have a garden that you made up yourself, make sure to visit alot of the sites I have directed you to for information on gardening and enjoy...you may search the web below...
For future reference there is a symptoms and cure chart below.
| Symptom | Cause |
Cure |
Plants |
| Cluster of small, soft-bodied insects on buds and growth tips (gray, black, pink, green, red, or yellow in color); sticky secretions may be evident. Leaves are curled. | Aphids | Spray with neem oil or insecticidal soap. Use contact poison labeled for aphids on vegetables as recommended by a qualified professional. | Every garden vegetable |
| Irregularly shaped holes in the leaves; hard-shelled beetles of many colors and sizes | Beetles of various kinds | Pick off by hand or spray with a stomach poison insecticide as recommended by a qualified professional. | Every vegetable crop can be infested by one or more variety of beetles. |
| Growth tips wilted or entire plant wilted; small hole in plant stem at point where wilting begins | Borer | Cut out borer, or destroy entire plant if affected at base of plant. Spray base of plant with suitable stomach poison insecticide in late spring and early summer as recommended by a qualified professional. | Cucumber, Melon, Pumpkin, Squash |
| Irregular holes in foliage; Green caterpillars under and on top of leaves | Cabbage Worms | Inspect plants and pick by hand. Spray with Bacillus thuringiensis -- an organic insecticide -- or neem oil. Use a stomach poison insecticide as recommended by a qualified professional. | Broccolli, Cabbage, Cauliflower, others |
| Corn kernels eaten within the musk; insides of tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants eaten; yellow-tan worms found inside | Corn Earworm, Tomato Fruitworm | Remove infested plant debris at the end of the season. Apply insecticide recommended for earworms as recommended by a qualified professional. |
Corn, Eggplant, Pepper, Tomato |
| Entire plant wilted or cut off at the base of the plant | Cutworms | Use paper collars, one inch above and one inch below ground level, around stems of transplants. | Cabbage, Pepper, Tomato |
| Slight wilting of the plant; plants growing poorly for no apparent reason; possible root damage | Grubs | Treat the soil with milky spore to control grubs. Control adult beetles with a stomach poison; apply soil drench of suitable insecticide, both as recommended by a qualified professional. | Most vegetables |
| Foliage turns yellow and begins to curl; small green-patterned, winged insects on undersides of leaves | Leaf Hoppers | Spray off light infestations with garden hose. Apply a stomach poison labeled for use on vegetables as recommended by a qualified professional. | Bean, Carrot, Chayote, Cucumber, Endive, Lettuce, Melon, Potato |
| Whitish trails visible on top sides of leaves; microscopic larvae of tiny flying insects | Leaf Miners | Remove infected leaves by hand. Keep garden weed-free. Remove and destroy infested plants in the fall. | Beet, Cabbage, Chard, Eggplant, Lettuce, Pepper, Squash, Tomato |
| Wilting of the plant; root inspection indicates yellowish, 1/4- to 11/4-inch wormlike creatures. | Root Maggots | Discourage the fly from laying eggs near the seedlings by putting shields of plastic or paper 4 inches square around the seedlings. For heavy infestations, drench soil with insecticide labeled for control of root maggots as recommended by a qualified professional. | Cabbage, Carrot, Radish, Spinach, Squash, Turnip |
| A slime trail from plants that have irregular holes in leaves and lower stems |
Snails and Slugs | Remove debris where they hide during the day. Shallow pans of beer will attract and drown pests. Commercial baits are available | Cabbage, Carrot, Lettuce, Tomato, Turnip |
| Yellowing leaves with speckled look; fine spider webs on backs of leaves and at point where leaves attach to stem; tiny reddish mites on webs and undersides of leaves | Spider Mites | Spray plants with miticide labeled for use on vegetables as recommended by a qualified professional. | Bean, Cucumber, Eggplant, Tomato |
| Distorted leaf tips, white irregular marks on leaves | Thrips | Hose off infected areas (insects are nearly invisible to the naked eye). Spray with a contact poison labeled for vegetable garden use as recommended by a qualified professional. | Bean, Cabbage, Carrot, Celery, Cucumber, Melon, Onion, Pea, Squash, Tomato, Turnip |
| Leaves and fruit of tomatoes and related plants eaten; four-inch green and white caterpillarlike worm found on plants. | Tomato Hornworm | Remove worms by hand as they are discovered. Spray with Bacillus thuringiensis, neem oil, or stomach poison insecticide as recommended by a qualified professional. | Eggplant, Pepper, Tomato |
| Tiny white insects fly from plant when disturbed. Large infestations weaken plant by feeding on undersides of foliage. | White Flies | Light infestations can be sprayed off with garden hose or neem oil. Spray contact poison labeled for white fly on vegetables as recommended by a qualified professional. | Eggplant, Pepper, Sweet Potato, Tomato |
| Poorly grown, yellow, wilted plants; hard, one-inch, golden worms feed on seeds, roots, and lower stems. | Wireworms | Drench soil with recommended insecticide as recommended by a qualified professional. Control adults (click beetles) later in the season. | Carrot, Lettuce, Potato, Tomato, others |
Diseases
| Symptom | Cause |
Care |
Plants |
| Dead areas on leaves and fruits; areas are depressed with slightly raised edge around them. Occurs mostly during wet weather. | Anthracnose | Spray with sulfur fungicide labeled for vegetables. | Bean, Cucumber, Melon, Pepper, Potato, Pumpkin, Squash, Tomato, Watermelon |
| Water-soaked spots that spread and fuse into irregularly shaped blotches; fruit begins to rot. | Blights | Rotate crops; destroy infected garden debris. | Bean, Eggplant, Pepper, Squash, Tomato |
| Sunken, black patches on blossom end of fruit | Calcium Deficiency, Nitrogen Excess | Retain even soil moisture during dry periods. Mulch susceptible varieties. | Pepper, Squash, Tomato |
| White, powdery dust appears on leaves. Lower leaves and stem turn grayish. | Mildews | Increase air circulation and keep foliage dry. Spray with fungicide labeled for vegetable crops as recommended by a qualified professional. | Bean, Corn, Cucumber, Melon, Onion, Pea, Pumpkin |
| Reddish or rusty spots on the leaves; leaves look wilted. | Rust | Water early enough for foliage to dry before nightfall. Destroy infected garden debris in fall. Spray with fungicide labeled for vegetables as recommended by a qualified professional. | Asparagus, Bean, Beet, Chard |
| Masses of black spores on foliage and growing tips | Smuts | Use resistant varieties; rotate crops; destroy infected garden debris. | Corn, Onion |
| Stunted plants, yellowing of leaves or yellow and green mottled leaves | Viruses | Plant resistant varieties; remove infected plants and destroy. Do not smoke when handling plants. | Every garden vegetable variety |
| Leaves wilt and turn yellow, even when soil is moist. | Wilt | Use resistant varieties; rotate crops; remove and destroy affected plants before disease spreads. | Cabbage, Celery, Cucumber, Pea, Sweet Potato, Tomato |
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