Special-Needs Gardening

Tips, Tricks, and Answers

The following articles are available for the 'Special-Needs Gardening' topic. Click the article's title (shown in bold) to see the associated article.

Building a Box Garden
Building a box garden is easy to do, and can provide you with fresh vegetables and flowers year 'round, if grown indoors. All you need are a few simple building materials, plant seedlings, and a little elbow grease to create your own box garden.

Cold-Climate Gardening
Short growing seasons, high winds, heavy snows, and lack of rain are all indicative of cold-climate gardening. While challenging, you can have a beautiful garden if you live in a cold climate by researching patterns of hardiness in your habitat.

Conserving Water in the Garden
Whether your trying to save money, have a limited supply, or you are just trying to be eco-friendly, conserving water is a great practice to get into. With just a few simple tricks, you can greatly reduce the amount of water used each week in your garden and lawn.

Dealing with Clay Soil
While dealing with clay soil can prove challenging when growing a lawn, flowers, or vegetables, you can improve the condition of the soil by amending it with sand and organic matter. Here are some helpful tips for dealing with clay soil.

Dealing with Rocky Soil
When you have rocky soil, your plants and lawn will not grow optimally, if at all. This article has handy tips and guidelines for dealing with rocky soil, and how to make it possible to grow plants even if you have the hardest bedrock in your yard.

Drought-Resistant Plants
Plants that require frequent watering not only put a strain on local water resources, they are high maintenance. Choose drought-resistant plants that require very little care and have low-water needs.

Gardening in Sandy Soil
Although water moves quickly through sandy soil, washing away vital nutrients and creating air pockets at the root system, you can grow flowers and vegetables in sandy soil. The key to doing so is to amend the soil to make it a friendlier environment for your plants. Add organic fertilizer, such as manure and vegetable refuse, to your sandy soil to enrich it with nutrients and make it more binding.

Gardening on a Slope
One of the most important factors to know when gardening on a slope is that of temperatures. Temperatures can differ greatly within the slope, since warm air rises and cold air sinks, filling depressions in the land. Both warm and cold air movements cause convection and winds. Learn the microclimates of your hillside and plan accordingly when considering the types of plants you want to grow.

Growing Cacti in a Cool Climate
There is a vast difference between cold-climate cactus and growing cactus in a cool climate. Knowing the difference between the two principles will help you understand how to make your cactus thrive, in any growing environment.

Hydroponic Gardening
An alternate method to soil gardening, and used by ancient peoples, hydroponic gardening is sometimes preferred over conventional soil gardening. Because plants spend their energy growing instead of searching for nutrients to grow, hydroponic gardening yields greater produce in a shorter amount of time.

Organic Garden
It seems like you can't turn around anymore without hearing about the impact that we have on our environment. Everyone wants to be just a little more "green" in their daily lives, and what better way to do that than in the garden? One of the best ways is through an organic garden.

Seed Garden
There is more to a seed garden than simply going out and picking up a few packets of seeds and planting them. If you are really interested in learning what makes a seed garden unique, then read on. For the truly enthusiastic gardener, this information will help you save time and money when planting season comes around.

What is Bedding?
For the experienced gardener or the beginner, garden bedding can take the hassle out of horticulture. Raised garden bedding is especially useful and provides many advantages when trying to raise flowers or grow vegetables.

Which Soil is Best for Plant Growth?
When you test your soil for pH, the kit's package instructions will recommend either adding lime to raise the alkalinity, or sulfur to lower the pH. The next step is to add nutrients by adding organic matter, such as decaying vegetation and manure, or fertilizer. Finally, periodically retest your soil and continue to amend it so that your plants will grow as best they can year after year.

 

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