Saturday, October 31, 2009

11 Tips Before Building A Backyard Water Garden Or Backyard Pond

The Pond Warehouse has over 13 years of experience in ponds and water gardens, building and owning a pond, water garden or pond-less waterfall can be an awesome and rewarding experience to enjoy. The Pond Warehouse strongly suggests you think through this list of 11 Tips before beginning your backyard water garden or back yard pond project.

1. Pick an area in your yard that you can make a pond or water feature look natural, preferably not a low area in the yard. Low spots gather rain runoff which can be full of nutrients. Nutrients cause algae blooms and can turn a pond green fast.

2. Do not build your pond too close to a tree. This can damage a trees roots and possibly kill the tree. That is something you do not want to deal with at a later date.

3. Do not build a pond in direct sunlight. This will cause pond algae problems. We recommend no more than 4 hours of direct sunlight. Plants will grow perfectly fine in shaded pond. In shaded areas of your pond, simply use slow release aquatic fertilizer tablets a couple times a year. You can find good Aquatic Plant Fertilizer at The Pond Warehouse. Also, consider using pond plant baskets containers, such as a Round Aquatic Plant Basket. Planting in containers makes it easier to move, divide, trim and maintain unwanted spreading of plants!

4. Make sure there is plenty of room for landscaping around your backyard pond. This will add beauty and help the pond look natural even in the flattest of yards.

5. To layout the shape of your pond, we recommend using a cord, rope or garden hose. You can continue to change the outline in your yard and play with it until you get the pond shape you are happy with.

6. Keep pictures and make notes of the things you like and incorporate them into your water garden pond. Take into consideration water flow. Do you want a gentle waterfall or more a gushing look?

7. You should decide what you plan to do with your backyard pond or backyard water feature? Do you want fish and plants in it or not. A pond with fish and plants requires different design considerations and treatment than a pond without fish and plants.

8. Make sure you check with you local county or township codes regarding any restrictions regarding building your pond, such as pond depth.

9. Placement of the pond waterfall is important. It is best to place the pond waterfall at the back of the pond. This way you can see it and hear it from your view point. There are many items that go into building a pond waterfall, so to make things less complicated The Pond Warehouse has put together 4 different pond waterfall kits based on stream length and width. We even provide a suggestion on how to build a waterfall for those that want a beautiful waterfall but no pond.

10. Proper filtration is a must. We recommend putting all the water in the pond through a filter every hour. This means if you have a 2000 gallon pond then you need a pump that will move 2000 GPH (33 GPM) such as the EasyPro 2200 GPH Mag Drive Pump. You also need a filter that can handle 2000 GPH, such as the EasyPro 2500 Gallon Pressurized Filter with UV or EasyPro AquaFalls biological filter.

11. Once you are ready to build your own dream water garden we strongly recommend you speak with an expert as pond design is critical so that everything works properly. If you do not know an expert in your area please feel free to contact The Pond Warehouse at 877-268-6186 for pond assistance. Also we can share with you exactly what to do in treating your pond with bacteria and water treatment so that you have a healthy, trouble free, beautiful pond that you can enjoy.

The Pond Warehouse has over 13 years of experience in ponds and water gardens. We can help you with all of your pond supply needs. We pride ourselves on delighting you – our customer by providing the pond expertise, highest quality pond products and top notch customer service all at the best value.

By: Paul Cole

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All You Need To Know About Chemical Pest Control

Pest control means management of a species creating problems for human beings directly or indirectly, since it is considered to be harmful to an individual’s health, the economy or the ecology. Pest management is at least as old as agriculture as it was necessary to keep crops free from unwanted animal.

Chemical control dates back 4500 years, with the Sumerians using Sulphur compounds as insecticides. In India the Rig Veda, which is about 4000 years old mentions the use of poisonous plants for pest control. But chemical management became widespread with industrialization and mechanization of agriculture in 18th and 19th century, and the introduction of insecticides Pyrethrum and Derris Today chemical pest control is the dominant type of pest control. But its aftereffects have led people to think about alternatives in the form of traditional and biological pest control.

The chemical agents include herbicides, insecticides and fungicides.

Long lasting synthetic compounds which affect the nervous system of insects on contact are applied as insecticides. Examples of most effective insecticides are the chlorinated hydrocarbons DDT, Chlordane and Toxaphene, even though DDT has been banned. Organophosphate insecticides include Malathiom, Parathion and Dimethoate. 2, 4- dichlorophenoxyacetic acid is the most effective herbicide, used to kill broad leaved weeds.

The disadvantage of using pesticides is that though they are valuable for agriculture, they can cause serious harm. Hence more and more people are shifting to organic and biological pest control measures. I would recommend you to find more lots of information about the pest control methods and safety measures before you start something. This information can be found through many sources. There are many directories which provide free of cost information about pest control and other valuable topics. Enough research can help you a lot in making the right choice. You should always be careful with chemical methods of pest control because they are very useful but can cause lot of problems.

By: Amit Chakraborty

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Gardening Up: The Solution To Gardening For Teeny Tiny Spaces

When approaching landscaping and gardening design, many homeowners neglect to look up! Yes, we all tend to forget about the possibilities for vertical gardening. Vertical spaces can provide exciting new dimensions and help make the most of even the smallest spaces. Shade, privacy, depth and intrigue are all bonuses that come to the upward reaching garden. Likewise, think of all the back strain you can avoid by not having to constantly crouch! In today's market, where curb appeal is more than necessary to sell your home, you'll want to explore all gardening options. So don't be directionally stubborn and look up to the skies for your curb appeal inspiration.

Some products on the market that are ideal for vertical gardening include planters with attached trellises, flat-backed pots, living-wall products and outdoor shelving units.

A tip for smaller gardens aiming to appear more spacious is to position vertical elements away from walls and fences. Placing items so that they hug the perimeter only accentuates the smallness of a space. Instead try setting up a segment of trellis as a free standing wall. Then you can add a potted plant or two in front of the trellis and create a multi-dimensional seating area. With this simple gardening solution you can compartmentalize areas more effectively.

Another important tip to take note of is that you don't want to have any vertical structure that is more than one third of your yard's width. Anything higher than this will have the opposite effect you're aiming for and will tend to monopolize the space and dwarf your efforts. As a rule of thumb 1.8 meters is a good height to go by.

In terms of plant selections, climbers are the obvious choice and work to soften lines and create a multi-tiered effect. Try honeysuckle, clematis, or jasmine to trellis up a wall, along a fence or through an arbor. For great container plants and flowers try sweet peas, black-eyed susans, spanish Flags and nasturtiums.

Espaliered shrubs with loose, open habits like camellia, euonymus can add a dramatic effect to any small garden space.

Often gardeners think of using vertical dimensions when it comes to disguising a sore spot like hydro pole or wires. But think of the flip side - to use vertical gardening to create something undeniably beautiful on the opposite side of the sore spot. Direct attention to the height of beauty you've created!

By: Ted Guarnero

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Basic Gardening Tips : How to Create Good Growing Soil


Friday, October 30, 2009

Gardening Tips For Your Reference

Are you aware of how wasteful it is to leave your garden bare? If you do not take the effort and try to make something out of your garden, it will be nothing but a wasted piece of land. Gardening isn’t as hard or tough as one might think. Here are a few gardening tips to guide you through your gardening with a breeze.

Firstly, determine what kind of plants you would like your garden to have: vegetables, fruits, trees of just flowers? Before you make up your mind though, take a look at the size of your garden and see if it’s possible to accommodate what you have in mind. Also, getting the right pH value of your garden’s soil is vital in the growth process of your plants. This is because different plants require different pH valued soils. So, do your homework and check out what is the pH of soil which suits your plants most.

Besides, another important tip is to get the pest under control. You wouldn’t want your garden to be ruined in just a short while. Poison ivy, for example, should be eradicated from your garden; however, you should take extra precaution when doing so. You’d have to pull out the plants together with its roots and apply herbicide in the soil in order to get rid of it completely. Remember to cover every part of your body and even wearing a breathing mask as poison ivy oil can be inhaled.

Furthermore, you shouldn’t overwater your plants as if you do, the plant’s root system wouldn’t be able to develop well. It will then turn out to be unhealthy in the long run. If you have a vegetable garden, there are several ways of watering the vegetable plants which you should do some research on. This ranges from simple watering (using the watering can) to using sprinklers. Different types of vegetables require different methods for its optimum growth.

All in all, gardening wouldn’t be a problem if you were to follow the gardening tips mentioned above. You wouldn’t be spending too much and bear in mind that engaging yourself in gardening is a very rewarding experience.

By: Francis Murphy

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