To save your nerves and to create your own wonderful blend of rose fertilizer, we have provided you with an excellent rose fertilizer recipe that will make sure your roses are big and bold.

This recipe was actually developed by Morris Arboretum from the University of Pennsylvania

The Ingredients:

• 1 part fish meal
• 1 part alfalfa meal
• 1 part greensand
• 1 part gypsum
• 1/2 part bonemeal

Basically, when you are looking at portions, it depends on how much you are planning to make.  If you are using cups, you can make it 1 cup of fish meal, alfalfa meal, greensand, and gypsum and 1/2 cup of bonemeal.  If you are producing a large amount of rose fertilizer, you could use 10 cups of everything except bonemeal, which takes 5 cups.

Once you have the ingredients measureed out, combine them together and they are ready for use.  To use the fertilizer, simply sprinkle on the soil around the rose and gently rub it into the soil.

When it comes to rose gardening, you have probably heard the term, “Fertilize, fertilize, fertilize.”  In fact, fertilizing your roses is an important part of your rose care and properly fertilizing will ensure that you roses are big, tall and beautiful.

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If you are an avid gardener, or even not so avid, you probably have your own type of fertilizer that you prefer to use and probably something that it has in common with mine is that it is expensive.  It is almost alarming at how expensive a fertilizer can be. Sure, we all want big and beautiful blooms but does it have to be so expensive to create those blooms.  The answer, of course, is no, it doesn’t need to be that expensive.

Instead, you can make a number of fertilizers using everyday items that you find at home.  Not only is it more inexpensive, reusing, and recycling the materials around your home is a great way to be a “green” gardener.

Tip #1:  It’s all in the grounds

The first time I heard this being suggested, I was a little surprised.  After all, doesn’t coffee stunt growth, I mean, that is what happened to me.  Fortunately for my plants, coffee works as a great fertilizer for gardens and instead of throwing your leftover coffee away, why not save it for your garden.  With this fertilizer, you actually don’t use the grounds but you use the coffee that is brewed from the grounds.  Once you have a pot of coffee, add it with another 4 pots of water for a 1:4 ratio.  This will give you your fertilizer and you can use it on your plants every other week to see some pretty amazing results.

Tip #2: Apples aren’t just used to keep the doctor away

Okay, maybe it’s not apples exactly but using a homemade fertilizer that has 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar and one gallon of water, can add a definite boost to your plants.  This fertilizer is great for house plants and it does an amazing job at boosting those green leaves.

Tip #3: Keep your fish tanks clean

This may seem like a strange tip but if you have a fish tank, your dirty fish tank water works as an excellent fertilizer since it is chalked full of nitrogen, which plants need in their soil.

Tip #4: A little Epsom for you and me

I love having baths and nothing is as nice as a bath with Epsom salts.  It can clean those pours and relax those muscles after you have spent a day out in the garden digging up that new flower bed.  What is even better, a mixture of 1 tablespoon of Epsom salt and 1 gallon of water can really help your tomato plants and other plants that require a higher level of magnesium to thrive.

Tip #5: Get cracking

The last tip that I am going to recommend as a homemade fertilizer is egg shells.  Whenever you make some eggs, save the shells until you have a fair amount. At that point, simply crumble them and then sprinkle them in the soil around your plants.  This provides your soil with much needed calcium carbonate.

And there are a few tips to get you on your way to not only saving a few nickles and dimes but also towards being an organic gardener.

Sirena Van Schaik

photo credit: © Fallsview | Dreamstime.com

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Tip: Discover the magic of mulching. A thick layer of mulch not only keeps weeds down, it retains moisture and adds nutrients as it slowly decomposes.

Come Spring 2009, cosmetic-use pesticides will be banned for sale or use on Ontario’s lawns and gardens. So, what do you do to ensure you aren’t overtaken by pesky weeds and insects? There are some good choices that can help you keep your garden green without harming the environment. Ontario’s Ministry of the Environment offers these tips for pesticide-free lawn and garden care.

Feed your soil. Healthy soil is the key to hardy, pest-free plants. Spread compost on your garden beds and use natural, organic fertilizer on your lawn in the fall.

Discover the magic of mulching. A thick layer of mulch not only keeps weeds down, it retains moisture and adds nutrients as it slowly decomposes. There are a variety of mulches you can use; from bark to wood chips, pine cones and leaves.

Combat weeds the natural way. Use a weed fork to pluck weeds as they appear, or pour boiling water on individual weeds before they seed. If your lawn is heavily infested with weeds or grubs, consider covering the whole area under a thick layer of mulch for the summer and reseed in the fall.

Choose native plants. Native species are better adapted to local climate and soil conditions and they’ll need less coddling to do well in your garden.

- News Canada

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Get your garden and lawn ready for winter

Shorter days and chilly weather may have caused your garden and lawn to shed its green hue, but that doesn’t mean you can’t think “green” when it comes to preparing for the winter months ahead. Consider the following fall garden and lawn clean-up tips from The Home Depot Canada:

Fall lawn care – Caring for your lawn in the fall as you would in the summer months will yield maximum results the following growing season. As the kids head back to school, get back to basics by applying a 100 per cent natural fertilizer to your lawn. The fertilizer allows your lawn to withstand the stress of winter and then green-up fast in the spring.

Mind your mower – Before rolling away your lawn mower make sure to “winterize” it to ensure a smooth cut next spring. Tighten all nuts and bolts and repair all scratches and chips to fight off rust. Hose off any mud, dirt, grass and leaves stuck to the mower and remove any debris caught in the blade with a stick – never with your hands. Opt for a push or electric-powered mower next season. They help reduce toxic air emissions produced by old two- and four-stroke gas mowers.

Get organized – In a hurry to make room for the snow blower, shovel and salt buckets? Don’t forget to store your garden and lawn tools in a safe place. Clean all of your equipment and store it in a dry place to avoid rusting. Use a lawn and garden cart or organizer to keep all your tools together and to minimize the amount of space it takes up in your garage or shed.

More environmentally friendly fall garden clean-up information can be found online at www.homedepot.ca or at a store in your community.

- News Canada

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