ROSE GARDEN CARE

1. To encourage more blossoms always prune when you pick flowers or when the flowers have dried up.
2. When spaying with lime sulphur, you should spray each part of the plant so that it is more effective.
3. Smear a little bit of mud on cut wounds.
4. Water a minimum of ten litres per week.
5. Always make sure that the soil is well aired and that it is easy for water and fertilizer to get in.
6. The best time to prune rose trees/plants as described below is in Mid July and mid August in hot regions and August in cold regions.

Materials needed for pruning rose trees/plants/bushes;

1. gardening gloves
2. secateurs
3. long handled pruners for thicker stems
4. a saw

The procedure should be as follows;

1. Cut all shoots and stems to the same level for example knee height. Leave the stems that look fresh and have a smooth bark the brownish red thorns. Completely remove stems that do not have wood and have red thorns.

2. Cut away all side stems leaving the main branch.

3. Using a saw cut off all thick old and dead wood at the base and also cut off any shoots and suckers.

4. Cut all remaining branches to an equal or even height.

TIPS FOR GROWING GRAPES

Grapes can be grown for eating, making wine or drying. Grapes are in different colors. Certain grapes can only grow in a certain area or climate, soil etc.

Grape vines grow best in areas with hot, dry summers and cool wet winters and spring or areas with summer rainfall. Some types of grapes include; black ones namely Barlinka, Alphonse Lavallee, Bonheur, Ronelle and Don Ben Hannah, red ones namely Rubistar and Redglobe and white ones namely Waltham Cross, Erlihane, Queen of the Vineyard and Bienne Donne.

- To let in more light and increase air, remove some of the leaves around the brunches a few weeks before harvesting.

- Remove shoots that grow downwards.

- Make sure there is a fair amount of space between each vine.

- Ensure that you water enough as the vines produce leaves, when they are flowering and when the berries are swelling.

- Reduce the amount of water as grapes begin to ripen.

- Mulch soil to increase water retention and air circulation.

- Using an organic fertilizer to feed the vines when they are in leaf, when the berries are growing and after picking berries.

- Thinning encourages production of larger grapes but fewer. Reduce number of brunches and removing grapes from the remaining brunches.

- Prune annually. Pruning and thinning actually helps to reduce fungal attacks. Lime sulphur application helps control pest and fungal infections.

- Plant herbs with strong scents in between vines to chase insect pests and encourage birds or chickens that eat insects into your garden.

HAVING A GARDEN THAT HELPS SAVE WATER

Most people think that growing a beautiful garden means having lots of green grass and lots of flowers everywhere. That is very expensive because you are using a lot of water to keep all that grass green. Learn how to use less money by reducing the amount of water you use on your garden.

The questions that come into mind are “how will I maintain a garden without using much water?” “Won’t it end up looking like a desert?”

The answer is that you can still have a beautiful garden by;

- Learning and growing grass and plants that do not need much water to look beautiful.

- Reducing the amount of lawn you are growing because out of all the plants and trees in your garden the lawn consumes most of the water and time to keep it neat and tidy.

- Replace lawn with large flower beds. This is where you have to learn to be creative. Grow plants that do not require much water in these beds and fill the gaps with rocks and small stones in a design that suits you.

- Pave other parts of the garden where lawn and flowers seem not to be growing well.

I hope you have been able to understand the procedures explained in this article and that they will be of use to you.

God bless you and take care. Thank you very much for reading.