Many people enjoy the flavor and quality of garden fresh vegetables as well as a feeling of accomplishment from growing their own. Busy lifestyles, both family members working, and limited space of urban lots creates a need for an approach other than traditional vegetable gardening. As a result, gardeners want good production from limited space which may even include containers on patios, decks or balconies. There are several space-saving gardening methods that may be used.

Old English gardeners devised the idea of interplanting vegetables to utilize space more fully. Interplanting means that a quick-growing, early maturing crop is planted between rows of a later-maturing crop that will later enlarge to fill the entire space. The crops may be planted in alternate rows, or may alternate in the same row. Some combinations suitable for early garden interplanting would be radishes with leaf lettuce, beets with carrots, or onions with cabbage. Vining crops or tomatoes may be added between rows of early crops that will then expand into the space as the early crops are harvested. The gardener may discover other combinations suitable for favorite vegetables or the conditions of the garden space.

Another space-saving technique is known as succession planting. This method achieves continuous use of a small space since a new crop is planted immediately after an earlier one is harvested. This is usually done by following a cool season crop with a warm season crop. They do not usually exist in the same area at the same time. Lettuce, peas, radishes or onions may be harvested in late spring or early summer with plenty of time to clean up the area and follow with green bush beans or late sweet corn. Fall crops, such as turnips or fall cabbage, might follow potatoes, earlier corn or any of the spring crops.

Band planting is another technique in which crops are planted in closely spaced double or triple rows instead of single rows. This reduces the amount of space in paths. It is best suited to low-growing crops such as lettuce, cabbage or bush beans.

Raised-bed gardening is another space-saving technique. Beds which are small enough to be worked from the perimeter are built from 8 to 12 inches high. Good top soil or soil mixes high in organic matter are used to fill them. Since the gardener does not have to walk into them, plants are set or seeded close enough so leaves will touch as they reach maturity. A layer of mulch will keep down weeds and as plants grow, they will be close enough to shade out weeds. Competition between closely spaced vegetable plants is more intense. Therefore, irrigation during dry periods is important to keep up an adequate water supply. If a mulch is not used, some shallow cultivation may be necessary to keep down weeds. When hoeing out weeds, do not dig deeply. Normally, a shaving stroke digging no more than 1/4 to 1/2 inch deep should be adequate to keep down weeds and avoid root damage to the vegetables.

Another development that has helped gardeners with limited space has been the breeding of vegetables that are compact and require less space while still producing a good crop. Bush cucumbers and bush watermelons are examples of crops that require much less space than standard varieties. These vegetable varieties are suitable for those who are trying to grow vegetables in planters or containers on patio, balcony or deck.

Vertical gardening is another approach, although not necessarily one of low maintenance. Fences, cages, trellises or other supports may be used to grow plants upright rather than spreading. Staking tomatoes has been one of the most common approaches to this technique. Vining crops are particularly suited to supports which will reduce their spread over the soil surface. Vining beans, cucumbers, squash and melons may be grown in this way. Some larger melons may be grown on supports, but individual melons will need support as they enlarge because of the weight. If not supported, large melons may break off or pull down the vines before they are mature.

Good fertility is important for intensive gardening techniques. Close spacing causes more root competition for fertility as well as water. In preparation for planting use about 3 to 4 pounds of a garden fertilizer such as 12-12-12 for each 100 square feet of garden area and work into the soil thoroughly. For very small gardens, this would reduce to about a tablespoon per square foot.

If vegetables grown from seeds germinate too thickly, never be afraid to thin them for adequate spacing. While intensive gardening means placing plants close together, extremely crowded plants will not produce the quantity of a crop that is expected.

Samet Bilir is a hobbyist gardener and landscaper with more than 10 years of experience in vegetables gardening. Among other projects, he is co-owner of ,Gardening and Landscape Design a great website to learn how to start a garden with subjects like: home vegetable gardens, container and raised beds gardening, growing tomatoes, herb and flower gardening and many more.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com

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Herbs are amazingly versatile and wonderfully easy to grow, and if you have never cooked with fresh herbs, you are missing out on one of life’s greatest pleasures. But, did you know that herbs can also be beneficial to your other plants? They can be a natural repellent or attractant, depending upon your requirements and can add fragrance, beauty and architectural interest, either indoors or out.

First, let’s look at some of the largely unknown pesticide benefits of gardening with herbs.

Plant Dill, Cilantro-Coriander and Fennel to attract both lacewings and ladybugs. Aphids are one of the most common scourges of the back yard gardener, be it vegetables, flowers or ornamentals. But, rather than using harmful pesticides that can seep into the ground water, are dangerous to your family and pets, and to which aphids will eventually become immune, plant an herb instead! Lacewings just love to eat aphids and their eggs, as well as other minute insects that invade and munch on your garden. Other soft-bodied insects, such as mites, white flies and scale insects are devoured by ladybugs. Many farmers consider the ladybug to be their very best friend, just because they eat such a wide variety of damaging insects and their eggs. You will most likely know how to identify an adult ladybug, but it is actually the larvae that eat more pests than the adults. The larvae are black with orange markings and cannot fly. Watch clusters of yellowish colored eggs that are laid on the undersides of leaves to see if they might develop into ladybug larvae…then smile.

• Plant Parsley, Spearmint, Thyme and English Lavender to attract hoverflies which look quite similar to a honey bee, but without the stinger. Again, as with the ladybug, it is the larvae that eat the most pests, their favorite being mealy bugs and aphids. The eggs of the hoverfly are white, oval and are sometimes laid singly or in groups on leaves. They hatch into brown, green, orange or white caterpillar-like worms about a half inch long. These voracious carnivores rise up on their hind legs to catch and feed on those garden pests that would otherwise eat you out of house and home, which is very true if you are growing vegetables with which to feed your family.
• Plant Caraway, Fennel and Parsley to draw parasitic mini-wasps to your gardens. Though the name sounds horrible, they perform an amazing service when it comes to organic gardening and they don’t sting. They lay their eggs on various caterpillars and tomato horned worms. The larvae utilize the host caterpillar or worm for its food source, which kills it. There are two different types of parasitic wasps, both of which help to control moth, beetle and fly larvae, as well as the tomato horned worm.

Some or all of the above-named herbs will also attract Minute Pirate Bugs (control most small insects and mites, especially thrips), Damsel Bugs (aphids, leafhoppers, plant bugs & small caterpillars), Big Eyed Bugs (eat leafhoppers spider mites, insect eggs and both the nymphs and adult mites) and Tachinid Flies (corn earworm, cabgage loopers, cutworms armyworms, stink bugs, squash bug nymphs, beetles and fly larvae). By planting these herbs, you not only save money on the pesticides, but you save time, as well, and have you seen the cost of jarred herbs lately?

Companion gardening with herbs is also an organic gardening trick. It turns out that certain plants love to be planted next to each other (and some don’t tolerate each other well at all). When it comes to herbs, it is not necessarily known WHY they help; just that years of experienced gardeners can tell us that they do!

• Basil-tomatoes love basil, and vice-versa. When planted in close proximity, the recommended ratio being three basil plants to every one tomato plant, magic seems to happen for both plants. Additionally, basil repels flies and mosquitoes, so plant some near your patio and some in your kitchen as well.
• Chamomile-is loved by onions and cabbage.
• Dill-prefers the company of cucumber, lettuce, corn and cabbage, but avoid planting in too close proximity to fennel because they can cross-pollinate.
• Garlic-is not only friends with fruit trees and tomatoes, but repels red spider mites as well.
• Hyssop-loves cabbage and grapes.
• Lemon Balm-is another great companion to the tomato and attracts many of the insects listed above.
• Lovage, Marjoram and Tarragon-apparently love just about any garden plant, fruit or vegetable, and are all quite fragrant.
• Parsley-doesn’t give a hoot for mint, but will welcome the company of asparagus, chives, tomatoes and carrots.
• Rue-is partial to strawberries and figs, but despises basil. In addition, cats will steer well clear of it.
• Rosemary-has been seen consorting with beans, sage, carrots and cabbage but turns its nose up at cucumbers.
• Thyme-keeps worms away from the cabbage, as well as enjoying its company.

So, there is much more to gardening with herbs than you may have thought possible. I, for one, have always enjoyed my friends’ herb gardens, being the recipient of fresh herbs on a regular basis, but my research has revealed that I have many more reasons to plant some of my own.

I will not only plant herbs in my vegetable garden, I’ll look at using lower growing herbs for my flower garden borders and plant some garlic near my apple and pear trees. And I think I’ll start an indoor herb garden too or maybe get a small, portable greenhouse and grow them on my patio all year round. That means I’ll be able to toss those old tins of herbs that are ages old, taking up space and questionably within their shelf-life, using fresh herbs in my everyday cooking and passing them out to my friends.

I can’t wait!

About the Author:

For Joe, gardening is the second love of his life, after his wife and children. Living in the rural mid-west is the ideal place to raise a healthy family and in which to pursue your dreams. Joe believes that sharing his knowledge is just one way he can give back to his fellow man, especially when times are as tough as they are right now and when many more people are taking up gardening as a way to make ends meet. He buys all of his garden and vegetable plants at Garden Harvest Supply and will look to see their selection of herb plants for sale.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com

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We look forward to hearing from you!

There are a range of courses students can take to train for a career in horticulture, but those offered by the RHS (Royal Horticultural Society) are among the most popular and recognised around the world.

To find out more about RHS qualifications visit their website.

Training is available on face-to-face courses (full or part-time) or by distance learning.

You can find a full list of providers on the RHS website. It is possible to sit the RHS exams in most countries of the world, as long as you make prior arrangements with the RHS examinations team.

online training

A number of providers offer RHS courses. Two of the most well-known are:

Edinburgh Garden School

Learning Curve Garden School

We’re just putting this page together. If you know of a site that should be included, please get in touch and let us know.

advantages and disadvantages of a career in horticulture

Advantages

Disadvantages

Gardening courses range from introductory and leisure courses, to advanced, specialist courses in areas such as organic gardening, wildlife gardening and period gardening.

Explore gardening courses with the directory at Horticulture Courses

Online and distance learning courses:

Learning Curve Garden School

Edinburgh Garden School

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Horticulture – the science and practice of gardening.

Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening, 1951

“… the science and art of growing fruits, vegetables, flowers, or ornamental plants.”

Merriam Webster

I have aways thought the kitchen garden a more pleasant sight than the finest orangery.. I love to see everything in perfection, and am more pleased to survey my rows of coleworts and cabbages, with a thousand nameless pot herbs springing up in their full fragrancy and verdure, than to see the tender plants of foreign countries.

Joseph Addison, 1672 – 1719

exploring horticulture

The word ‘horticulture’ is formed from two Latin words:

‘hortus’, meaning ‘garden’

‘cultura’ meaning ‘cultivation’.

Horticulture is a branch of agriculture, which is concerned with the cultivation and management of plants and animals to supply human needs. Many researchers define horticulture as plant cultivation without a plough; and agriculture as plant cultivation with a plough. Horticulture is concerned primarily with growing fruits, vegetables, herbs, and ornamental plants in gardens while agronomy, another branch of agriculture, is concerned with managing and growing large field crops, such as wheat and rice.

The science of horticulture is closely linked to the science of botany, the study of plant biology. Among the sub-categories of horticulture are floriculture (growing flowers), olericulture (growing vegetables), pomology (growing fruit), viticulture (growing grapes for wine) and landscape gardening.

The art of plant cultivation became divided into three main disciplines – horticulture, agronomy and forestry – during the manorial system of Europe’s Middle Ages. The concept of ‘horticulture’ derived from the cultivation of fruits, vegetables and herbs in enclosed gardens close to the manor house; while ‘agronomy’ came from the cultivation of larger crops in open fields further away from the manor, and ‘forestry’ from preservation of the wild areas furthest away from the manor house for game and forest products.

Today horticulturalists may work within all three disciplines.

Shrubs can vary considerably in size, from heathers of just a few centimetres to rhododendrons of several metres. They may also grow in many different shapes:

round – hebe albicans, Choisya ternata.

upright – Phildelphus ‘Virginal’, Perovskia atriplicifolia.

arching – Buddleia davidii, Cotoneaster conspicuus.

spreading – Virburnum davidii, Parrotia persica.

spiky – Yucca filamentosa, Cordyline australis.

prostrate – Cotoneaster dammeri, Vinca minor.

popular shrubs

Berberis thunbergil ‘Atropurpurea’ – 1-2m, will grow in most conditions. This is one of the most popular berberis cultivars due its dark purple foliage that turns red in the autumn. There are a wide range of berberis species, some of which are evergreen and others of which are deciduous. All have sharp thorns and this can be a factor in determining where they are positioned in the garden. It also makes them popular in public areas and parks, where they can be used to discourage vandals and direct foot traffic away from the most sensitive areas – for instance, where bird nests are located.

Philadelphus ‘virginal’ – over 2m, easy to grow. This is a large shrub with arching branches, often chosen for its early summer show of double, white, fragrant flowers. It is better known by its common name of ‘Mock Orange’. Smaller cultivars are available and may be better suited to the small garden.

Buddleia davidii - This is often known as the ‘Butterfly Bush’ because of its ability to attract butterflies. It produces large, attractive flower spikes on its arching branches, which may be coloured pink, blue or purple. It is a medium sized shrub growing between 1-2m tall, and produces its best flowers when cut back hard in spring.

Rhododendrons - This genus includes many different species and cultivars ranging in size from medium to large. Most are evergreen, although azaleas are deciduous. They all thrive best in acidic soil and attempts to grow them on an alkaline soil will produce poor, spriggy growth with yellowing leaves and little if any flowering. In alkaline soil these acid lovers suffer extreme iron deficiency. The problem can be treated with sequestered iron feed – for instance, sequesterene.

Weigela florida – This is a medium sized shrub often chosen for its arching branches and tubular pink flowers which grow abundantly in May/June. It is an undemanding plant and will grow in most soil conditions, in sun or partial shade. As such it is a good ‘starter shrub’.

Viburnum plicatum – A large, attractive shrub, that is grown for both its foliage, which grows in tiers, and its flowers, which smother the branches in May. The flower-heads are pure white and flat, and typically up to 9 – 10cm across.