Causes of Dehydration

Inadequate watering is usually the main reason for dehydrated plants. Sometimes plants become dehydrated due to careless gardeners who do not water plants enough. At other times, plants may require plenty of rains and despite a gardener’s best efforts, if it is a drought prone region, plants may eventually experience dryness.

While lack of adequate water is usually the primary cause for dry plants, unsuitable weather conditions are equally harmful. Plants often dehydrate due to dry weather conditions. Often during hot, dry summers, the moisture from the soil and plants completely evaporates. Extremely cold temperatures can dehydrate plants as well. Just the way a hot summer makes plants thirsty, cold winter breezes can strip a plant of its moisture and leave it dehydrated.

Lack of adequate moisture in the soil could be the reason behind your dry plants. This may be due to irregular watering but this may also be due to poor quality soil. Plants require the right type of soil with enough moisture content otherwise they are at risk of becoming dehydrated. Dryness in plants can also be a result of inadequate nutrients in the soil so it is important that you check this. Your plants can become easily dehydrated due to salt stress so you must ensure the soil has just the right amount of salt in it.

Symptoms of Dryness

The first signs of dryness appear on the top of a plant and begin on the outside. As the plant progressively dehydrates, the symptoms will move downwards towards the roots and inwards, closer to the stems. Spotting a dehydrated garden is fairly easy with plants usually showing the following symptoms:

• Leaves become limp and brownish at edges
• Plants start to wilt
• Stunted growth
• Shriveled flowers
• Fruits and flowers drop
• Plants turn yellowish, especially lawns
• Plants begin to die in extreme cases

Treatment of Dehydrated Plants

Regularly watering plants is the most obvious cure for a dry plant. Learn a little about the plants in your garden because some might require buckets of daily water while others may only need to be watered every once in a while. Proper watering usually does the trick during the hotter months and daily watering in the evenings can reduce evaporation.

Adding mulch to flower beds and shrubs early in the season is also a good way to prepare for dry seasons, both hot and cold. Water-retentive gel is also popularly used in container plants or hanging baskets.

In freezing temperatures, plants must be watered very carefully to avoid dehydration. It is best to water plants monthly when temperatures are not so freezing and the ideal time to do it is early in the day or evening. It is important that the plants do not become over-hydrated or the ice will cause further damage. Watering earlier in the day gives enough time for the water to reach at least six to eight inches deep into the soil while at the same time giving the soil enough time to soak in the moisture before night. This does the dual job of beating dehydration due to the cold as well as maintaining soil moisture.

As a gardening enthusiast, it is important to check your soil to ensure it is right for your plants. Some soils are very moisture retentive while others do not soak up water very well so you will need to tailor your watering according to the soil type. You must also ensure your plants receive adequate nutrients from the soil, especially salt or they will become easily dehydrated. Your local nursery should be able to suggest ways to improve your soil but adding some organic matter to the soil usually helps.

If you like to grow delicate plants, you might want to consider a greenhouse for better protection. Greenhouses are good for temperature control and provide tender plants the protection they need without leaving them at the risk of dehydrating outside.

Last but not the least, while there may be no cure for a drought, there are plants that will not suffer from dehydration in such a region. If you live in a similar area, the best way to keep the dryness out of plants may be to opt for xerophytic plants in your garden.

Believe it or not, gardens account for about 25% of water usage in a household and a lot of this is due to unnecessary wastage that can be avoided if you are conscientious. To optimize your usage of water, some of these garden watering restriction tips might be worth considering.

No Garden Water Sprinkler System

Most water restricted areas will probably put a ban on the use of garden water sprinklers, so a hand held watering cans or small buckets are the best way to save water as they dramatically reduce wastage of water. If you are using a water sprinkler system, use a timer to control your usage.

Choose Xerophyte Plants to Conserve Water

As a gardener, you probably already know that some plants “drink” more water than others. A good way to be water wise is to choose plants that are drought resistant, consume very little water (xerophytic) or use non-invasive exotic plants instead. I have also found that plants with foliage do extremely well when you are trying to conserve water and in keeping with the current container gardening trend, foliage plants do very well in containers. Yuccas, Agaves, Escheverias, Cycads, and various types of Flax are some examples. Plants with grayish or silver leaves also do well in drought prone regions so Lavenders, Westringia or Bearded Iris are all good choices. If you are unsure of how to choose the right plants for your garden, your local nursery is a good place to look for advice on plants that do not need large amounts of water to survive.

Conserving Water when Watering

Most gardens only really require about one bucket of water for every square meter to avoid wilting; so most of the time, we tend to use more water than necessary. I have always believed the easiest way to save water is simply being smarter about the way we use it while gardening. For example, I always group plants according to how much water they need so I use only the amount of water that is really needed. Also, remember to water plants at their root zone as this will help them retain water longer and also encourage the growth of deeper, hardier roots.

Saving Water by Slowing Evaporation

Another good idea is to mulch your garden beds and even potted plants as this slows evaporation and keeps your plants hydrated longer. Over 70% of water evaporates instantly if the soil is not protected by a layer of mulch. Soil wetting agents are also great because they hold water in the soil longer. In fact, early mornings and evenings are the best times to water your garden as evaporation is least during these times.

Weeding to Conserve Gardening Water

Every gardener knows this but when it comes down to reducing wastage of water, weeding is especially important because they are in competition with the rest of the plants in your garden and are soaking up water that would otherwise be used by your plants.

Recycle Water for Gardens

We love our plants, but they do not necessarily need clean filtered water to grow. Your garden can successfully survive if you use “gray water” to keep your plants hydrated. Gray water is domestic waste water, that comes from your laundry or bathroom and this water is suitable for watering the lawn, fruit trees and garden beds.

Gardening with water restrictions may seem a challenging task for the inexperienced but smart thinking and creative water usage can not only help you stay within legal water usage limits, but also make you an environmentally conscious gardener.

In addition to being grown as an herb the rosemary plant is also grown as a hedging plant. Rosemary bush is also very common among gardeners. Hot dry climate is normally most favourable climatic conditions for the rosemary plant grow healthily. As far as the type of soil is concerned the rosemary plants need well drained and alkaline soils.

Rosemary Varieties

There are several rosemary varieties that can be easily grown in the gardens. Some of the more popular ones and generally proffered rosemary varieties across the world include following;

Gorza’ is one specific rosemary variety that is preferred by chefs for cooking as well as skewers. You can also make great barbecues with Gorza rosemary leaves. You just need the stalk and sharpen the ends and load it to the tasty morsels on to the skewer.

“Huntington carpet’ is another rosemary variety. It is a typical prostrate grower that grows only up to 25 centimetres in height. You will love this rosemary plant as it is covered with lovely blue flowers. If surrounded with rocks the plant tumbles over it and adds to the elegance. You can also grow them in same conditions indoor in a hanging basket as well.

‘Salem’ is among the typical upright growing rosemary varieties and may also gain an overall height up to two meters. Salem may also cover almost a meter area in its width horizontally. This particular rosemary variety is best suitable for growing as hedging plant. This rosemary variety is also best as growing bushes. Rosemary bush will also serve as a hedging to the garden. Rosemary plant of this Salem grows during summer season with sharp spikes of deep blue coloured flowers. 

How to Grow Rosemary and Rosemary Plant Care Tips

Size of the rosemary plant leaves determines its degree of drought tolerance. The smaller the leaves are in size the more drought- tolerant the rosemary plant is. Because of these characteristics the rosemary plant is quite suitable for landscaping purposes equally.

While growing rosemary plants in your garden you must ensure that the soil is well drained. The roots of the rosemary plant sit well in warm moist soil and therefore you should never over-water the plant otherwise the plant will fall to root-disease called ‘phytophthora’.

Immediately before the onset of summers you must prune the plants back. This will open up the plant and will also reduce the probability of its falling to diseases the pruning at right time is also advantageous as the prunes can also be used as cuttings. Growing rosemary from these cuttings is as easy as growing with seeds. There are few cultivars that produce seeds as well.

Propagating rosemary plants from the cuttings is also very easy. You should strip off the bottom leaves and remove every particle of potting mix. Presence of potting mix may spoil the tip or root of the rosemary plant. You can also ensure this by putting a small hole in the bottom of the potting mix and put these cuttings in the same.

Rosemary plants grow well if you add a little dolomite to the soil every year. Adding up small quantity of dolomite will increase the pH of the soil. In hot and humid climates the dolomite effect is amazing. You should simply dust the whole plant and watch it grow healthily.

Apart from its herbal value rosemary plants are also used in aromatherapy now days and it is gaining tremendous popularity. Dried rosemary is also used as potpourri worldwide. Rosemary oil finds its perfect use in manufacturing perfumes and cosmetics. Rosemary oil has got its commercial and industrial value and therefore if you are gardening with this point of view then rosemary plants are the best suitable for growing.

Growing rosemary plant in your garden will not only add to its beauty but you can also gain the commercial value of these plants. It is a win-win situation in all manners for gardeners.

Mini Greenhouses Best for Greenhouse Seeds

Such types of mini greenhouses serve multiple gardening purposes. A mini greenhouse in your own garden will allow seedlings to grow healthily. Everything starts with sowing seeds in appropriate containers. There are specific trays and saucer-type containers that can be used for this purpose. Vegetable seeds can be comfortably sown in these trays. Greenhouse seeds have been found growing better and healthily subsequently.

You can grow varieties of seedlings in such trays and put them in to self build mini greenhouse. Some of my favourite seedlings would possibly include several varieties of cucumber, tomatoes, and pumpkin. Seeds of these plants are small so you can simply sprinkle them thinly on the soil surface. You can see small grass like plants coming up after very soon.

In order to identify correctly you can put a specified label to each plant so that the placement of each plant would be properly arranged later when you sow them directly in to the sandy soil. It is also better using seedling raising mix. You can buy prepared seedling raising mix from your garden store.

Build Your Own Greenhouse for Germination

You need to learn how to build a greenhouse and growing plants in a greenhouse. Although you will find greenhouse kits and even a readymade portable greenhouse that can easily be bought from any good greenhouse supply store but you may like to build a mini greenhouse of your own.

A little intelligent work and innovativeness is required to learn how to build a cheap greenhouse. Greenhouse plastic is a specific greenhouse material that you can easily buy from garden supplies stores in your area. You must explore if suits to your pocket as well. An indoor greenhouse is another option that you may think for. Growing plants in a greenhouse is more effective and you can even buy greenhouse seeds for germination from the greenhouse supplies stores.

Growing Plants in a Greenhouse

Germination comes in as the next issue and you can use hot water bottles for creating warm conditions around the seed. You can fill the water bottles with boiling water and wrap these bottles in multiple layers of bubble wrap. This will create almost perfect insulation and the water bottles will retain their heat. Put the seed trays on top of these bottles.

As far as the greenhouse seed germination is concerned this process is appropriate and arrangements are sufficient but you need help seeds with a conducive environment also. You can build a mini greenhouse with the help of empty plastic doona pack or similar greenhouse material. The hot water bottles and seed trays on top of them can be easily put in this mini greenhouse. Use of plastic in itself provides enough support and stiffness so that the greenhouse will stand up. In addition to this you may also add support of two or three sticks to sustain the small greenhouse up.

Hot water bottle will lose their heat after some time though slowly. You should re-fill these bottles with extremely hot water when needed. This may be required to be done for at least two or three times a day and this may continue for up to six or seven days. The latent heat supplied to the greenhouse seeds will help them germinate faster. Once the seeds come up they do not require the same amount of heat any more.

After the seeds are germinated completely they can easily be brought in to direct sunlight and can be planted outdoors as well. Such types of most economically created and cheap greenhouses are best for growing vegetables of your own choices in your own garden. Vegetable gardening with the help of greenhouse gardening techniques in these times of global economic recession is the best option for many households worldwide and such small tips will certainly help gardeners.

Scientists have been successful in identifying reasons for loss of biodiversity the world over. A group of researchers at the University of Zurich has concluded that excessive fertilization is the root cause of reducing of the biodiversity.

When extra nutrients are added to the soil in the form of fertilizers, the overall rate of growth of plants tends to increase very fast. As a result the habitat gets overpopulated. This in turn results in to blocking of proper sunshine to the smaller species and thereby disturbing the biodiversity balance of the nature. The areas that are affected by this over-fertilization syndrome get depleted in the number and varieties of plant species very rapidly. 

A team of researchers from the University of Zurich conducted study on such impacts of over and extra fertilization in identified areas and suggested that tighter norms and controls are required if the widespread loss to the biodiversity is to be checked. 

According to the estimates the level of nitrogen (N) and phosphorous (P) that are available to the plants has increased almost double in last half a century. Researchers derived that an overall increase in the chemical nutrients in an eco-system has led to the significant loss of biodiversity as far as the grasslands the world over are concerned. Although the “mechanism of how it was occurring had been difficult to determine”, say researchers. 

There are two main hypotheses for explaining and understanding this phenomenon.”One is that the presence of more resources led to a general increase in the strength of competition among plants and the other is a little bit more mechanistic”, explained Professor Hector. 

He further added that, “when you get an increase in fertilization, you get an increase in productivity, leading to increased biomass and increased shading”. 

The research study led by Professor Hector concluded that primarily it is the lack of access to proper light that affects diversity and not the increase in the strength of competition. In this sense just the overall growth of a plant is not sufficient. It is the availability of proper light including the sunlight that could prevent the loss of biodiversity. 

Professor Hector however remarked that the findings of his research study cannot be treated as the “magic-bullets” for conservationists. On the contrary these findings simply reveal the asymmetric pattern of access to the proper light and the level of competition for light is heavily improper. 

“So if a plant can get between the sun and its competitors, not only can it get all the light it needs but it can also block its competitors’ access to light. Because this competition for light is such a ‘winner takes all’, it emphasizes how important it is that we control nutrient enrichment” .concluded Professor Hector.

The DNA of the date palm for this research was collected from the leaves of the date palm plant provided by the Qatar Plant Tissue Culture Lab. For entire Middle East, almost all parts of the Northern Africa, and Pakistan the date palm is quite important. It is one of the major agricultural sources of nutritious fruits in these areas of the world. Date palm fruits are exported throughout the worldwide and people enjoy its taste and understand its nutritious values. 

Date palm is grown in many other parts of the world. As a matter of fact drought prone and saline-affected areas provide favorable climatic conditions for growing date palm. Gardeners living in such parts of the world also take quite an interest in growing date palm in their gardens. 

Date palm with improved DNA or an advance variety of genetically hybridized date palm will ensure high yield and this would be a great welcome news for all gardeners.

Horticultural perlite is a sterile matter and it is by and large free of any weeds and diseases. This characteristic of perlite makes it appropriate for home gardening. Every gardener therefore should understand all the facts about perlite and how perlite can be used effectively for all gardening purposes. 

What is Perlite  

Perlite is a typical mineral which is volcanic in nature. It is part of the lava that comes out off the volcano and therefore has a very typical thermal expansion perlite property. It can expand even up to 13 times of its normal grain size and original volume if subjected to a temperature as high as 1600 degrees. At this high temperature the magma mineral particles start popping out just like popcorns. As a result of this thermal process a new material comes in to formation which is granular, snow white, and is extremely lightweight. 

Chemical and Physical Properties of Perlite 

As far as the physical properties of the horticulture perlite are concerned it is amorphous, odorless, very lightweight, and quite easy and safe to handle in many purposes including gardening. It is mainly because of these physical properties of the perlite that it is extensively used in for planting patio in containers, be it a box or ornamental container. Containers when filled with perlite mixed with soil or perlite mixed with a bonding agent can be easily shifted from one place to another. 

Perlite is an inorganic matter and therefore stays almost forever. Unlike the organic matter it does not deteriorate or disintegrate. The pH of the horticultural perlite is completely neutral with a range of 6.5 to 7.5. 

How Perlite Insulation Helps Plants and Soil 

Horticultural perlite has loose-fill insulation property and therefore ensures reducing the fluctuations in the temperature of the soil. Perlite insulation makes moisture and thus keeps the soil moist and contained with nutrients which remain always available to the plants. 

How Perlite Provides Moisture to Plants 

Perlite is composed of tiny particles that are closed air cells or we call them as bubbles. Each perlite particle is a bubble in itself and its surface is covered with very small cavities providing considerably large surface area. These small cavities developed on the surface of perlite can easily entrap enough moisture which becomes accessible for the plants roots when the perlite is applied for gardening. 

How Perlite Facilitates Good Aeration and Drainage 

Appropriate aeration is another characteristic of perlite that makes it an obvious choice for gardening purposes. Each perlite particle has a specific shape which creates an air passage creating a great growing media for healthy plants. 

Perlite is a good agent for facilitating aeration and good drainage. Adding the horticultural perlite to the heavy clayey soil will cause de-crusting of the outer surface. Such created perlite soil media will further facilitate the plants roots to penetrate deeper with much ease. This way the plant roots will develop far stronger and wider. 

How to Use Perlite for Patio Plants 

For patio plants specific perlite mix would be more appropriate. It would be one third perlite mixed with one third peat moss and one third composted wood products including bark and shavings. Compared to the normal garden planting the patio planting requires more frequent watering. Patio plants have a tendency to dry up faster.

Hunker down in gardening terms can be best understood as a proven method to survive safely. You grow what you can and save money. It is as simple as that. Your garden could be a place where you start planting vegetables, herbs, and everything else that you would have purchased from the markets otherwise.

Start Hunkering Down with a Good Plan

Hunkering down with your garden needs a good planning at first. You must make out a list of plants, vegetables, and herbs that can be easily grown in your own garden. While doing this you must calculate how much money you will save ultimately. In nutshell it is simply working out the economics and cost effectiveness of the likely produce. A good budget planning would certainly help you a lot in saving substantially.

Select Your Plants Wisely

Selection of plants, vegetables, and herbs should be based upon your local requirements and weather conditions. You need to be wise enough for winter season and spring gardening fundamentals in order to ensure better results and advanced preparedness.

Plants Herbs and Trees

As an avid gardener you may think of planting lettuce, kale, kumquat, lemons, spinach, rosemary, mint, and a variety of other herbs. You may add plum tree to your garden. You may also like to grow almond, apple, and any other plant as per your requirements.

Plant Vegetables that you can Store

Similarly, you may also grow vegetables like tomatoes, onions, potatoes, and many more. There is an added advantage if you grow what you can store for a longer time. It is more beneficial ultimately as you save substantially for a longer period. Hunkering down is in fact storing and saving in its true sense. Choose the varieties that are more sustainable and will give you more yields per square yard. Genetically grown hybrid varieties could be advantageous in such case, so better go for that. The less dependent on market you are for your daily food requirements the more sustainable you are and sailing through this tough recession period will not affect you.

Plant Seasonal Fruits

Daily food requirements do not get completed without fruits and you should include seasonal fruits in your planning as well. Here the local growing conditions are key role players and planting such fruits would be wiser. Here you need to be ‘fresh-oriented’ and plant accordingly.

The great economic recession may get even worse in coming times and the crisis may get even deeper. It is always better to be prepared and start growing selective plants, fruits, herbs, and vegetables in your garden so that dependency on market forces could be reduced substantially.

Coppicing and Pollarding: Understanding Basics

When a plant is cut back close to the ground level it results in producing young and vigorous stems. This process is called “Coppicing”. If the same method of cutting the plant is applied further up the trunk, it will be known as “Pollarding”.

Coppicing and pollarding are not new concepts in the gardening and agriculture. They are being used since long time now and even the early people in almost every part of the world used to pollard and store the branches to feed the stock through winters. Winters in many parts of the world are tough times and not much grazing is available.

Purposeful Application of Coppicing and Pollarding

In many parts of the Europe people used to apply coppicing hazels and branches were cut at different defined ages. This practice is still continued and branches are cut at fixed intervals of five, ten, and fifteen years. It is mainly based on the purposeful application of cut branches which are used in buildings and creating poles and fence. The application largely depends on the thickness and age of the branch.

Gardening Applications of Coppicing and Pollarding

Methods of coppicing and pollarding have evolved significantly through ages and now days they are also used for ornamental applications in gardening. It is easier to turn a garden in to an elegant garden having ornamental plants grown with the help of coppicing and pollarding gardening techniques.

There are several plant species that can be turned in to ornamental plants simply by applying coppicing and pollarding techniques. Eucalyptus for instance will grow with attractive juvenile foliage in all urban plantations with minimum maintenance required. It is mainly the form, texture, foliage, and colour that add to the value of plants. Additionally, the leaves of such plants are more preferred for floristry and cut foliages as well.

Pollarding is widely applied in public parks and even for the street-trees. Gardeners may or may not find pollarding much useful for their gardens but lot depends on the type of plants grown in the garden. While pollarding care must be taken as some of the branches may be poor and weak. Pollarding therefore requires much more careful and experienced handling. Coppicing on the other hand is quite safe and easy to practice with. This is why in gardening coppicing is more preferred.

Coppicing can be applied on many plants in garden. If applied on native and exotic plants coppicing will open up a whole new garden look and amazing results can be achieved. Vegetation in the garden can be given an entirely different look with coppicing.

The robot developed by these students costs just$3,000 and is small in size. This “robot gardener” moves around the garden on a base that is quite similar to the “Roomba Vacuum”. It works on the pre-defined networked plant indicators. When a plant indicates that it requires watering the robot catches up the signal and its water pump starts sprinkling on the plant. As soon as the cherry tomatoes get ripe the robot comes to know about right timings and uses its arms to pluck the ripe fruits.

Robots created like this one is a big leap in to future use of advanced technology in daily life. The day is not far off when gardens around the world be served and cared by these “robot gardeners”. It is not unrealistic to predict the future of farming and agriculture with the use of robots in various stages.

This robot gardener created by MIT students has been an interesting experience for the whole group. “Creating the mechanical arm needed to harvest the tomatoes or perfecting the network that let the plants and robots share information” says Mellissa was one of such experiences.

The “MIT Robot Gardener” was designed with an inter-linked network in which each plant and the robot were connected to a dedicated computer network. Sensors were installed in the soil. These sensors could clearly indicate when watering is required and when plant needs fertilizers. Overall inventory of the plant was monitored by a camera installed on the robot. This robot was specially programmed for cherry tomatoes and had almost every possible event and actions programmed.

These days’ robots have facilitated systems across the world with finest automation procedures and this is why we find development of robots for various home applications, health care aids, and several others.

Robots though expensive propositions in today’s circumstances  but are going to be used for multi-purpose objectives in near future and for gardeners especially it is a great news.