The Magic Plant Copier

Writen by Kenneth C. Hoffman

Did you ever wish you could have a copy of the beautiful plants you come across in your travels? You can and it's easy. Most people would be glad to let you have a few cuttings of their plants. They have to prune them anyway twice a year. You may find a rare sub dwarf evergreen in a brilliant green, a hybrid azalea in flaming orange or a weeping golden chain tree in somebody's yard. Remember that only the tops of weeping trees will weep so don't use the suckers from the base.

After taking the cuttings, wrap them in a wet towel and Saran wrap until you get home. Take a five gallon empty paint bucket and pierce a ring of 3/8 inch holes half way down the sides for drainage. Mix half sand and half coarse gravel and fill the can up to the hole line. Don't put a hole in the bottom of the can. Fill the can with sharp sand (not from the beach) up to the top.

Cut the bottom of the cuttings on an angle and split the ends into three parts about two inches from the end. Dip this splayed end into a packet of Rootone and stick the cuttings four inches apart about six inches deep. Fill with water (no fertilizer) and place in a shady spot. In three to six weeks, check to see which cuttings sent down roots. Water once per week or when needed. When they have roots, transfer them to individual six inch pots and move them to a brighter spot but not full sun. In six weeks you should have a dozen or more plants ready for the garden.

Plants that are easy to root are most evergreens, forsythia, pussy willow. corkscrew willow, fire thorn and fruit trees. Be careful you don't plant the willows near drainage pipes. Any plants you have left over make wonderful gifts and if you are willing to give up some garden space for a few more five gallon cans, you can make a good dollar selling to the local nurseries. Good luck.

Retired portrait photographer. Comments welcome.

How To Grow Garlic In Your Home Garden Successfully

Writen by Joyce Moore

Greetings fellow Gardeners!

The following tutorial refers to garlic growing specifically, but can easily be used for most onion crops as well.

The following information is for general garlic growing that I have used for my own home garden. Of course, there are lots of specialty seeds and plants that require more specific techniques but as I am not a professional horticulturist, but a home gardener like yourselves, I will stick with what I know!

For basic garlic growing you need a few things. First of all your garlic cloves! We started out by growing garlic from garlic heads bought at the store, but then I decided to try some new and different varieties! Last year I ended up the with some German Reds left over after my fall selling on virtualseeds.com, so decided to plant them with the idea of offering them to my customers in 2001. This way, I could be assured of the freshest product possible and it allowed me to use the garden space normally left fallow all winter to good use. spring So, I planted in October and waited for spring.

Remember to work in some good compost and bone meal before planting your cloves. I planted mine about three inches deep or about three times the size of the clove. We have fairly mild coastal winters so not a lot of hard ground freezing until around January and then it is only for a few weeks at most. More on this subject later in the tutorial.......

Viola! Come late spring, what to my wondering eyes to appear, but garlic sprouts!

Let's back up a little to discuss the two basic types of garlics for the home gardener. Generally speaking we are talking about hardnecks and softnecks.

HARDNECK GARLICS(See picture at top of page) are very popular because they are easy to grow in most types of soils as long as the soil is fertile and well draining. Hardnecks will store for three to six months on average so are grown for early winter usage. There are many different varieties from the German Reds that I offer my customers to Spanish Roja and more. As you can see from the titles, these garlics most often have some coloring to them such as streaks of purple, red or brown. They are valued for their high allicin content and great flavor that holds up to cooking. Hardnecks can be a little challenging when separating the cloves as they have a fair amount of "parchment" or the papery skins you have to peel away to get at the "meat". They tend to have a inner circle of large cloves with few to any smaller cloves on the outside. Hardnecks are planted in the late fall and harvested in early to mid summer.

SOFTNECK GARLICS are the ones you see in the grocery store and in garlic braids. These are normally white such as the silverskins. The variety you see in the store most likely is "Colossal" or another generic variety. Stores and their customers want the whitest garlics. Flavor is good and can be from mild to very strong. The necks are more pliable than hardneck varieties so they make good candidates for braiding. Softneck garlics advantage is that they store longer, up to nine months. They generally have numerous cloves in a head. Softnecks also are planted in the fall with later harvesting in late summer.

Do you have garlic in your refrigerator that has begun to sprout? Can they be used in cooking? Not likely as the cloves will feel "empty" as the plants have already used the stores to start the plants. Can the cloves be separated and planted? Sure, and garlics can be planted in the spring but generally don't do well as an annual crop. They are genetically meant to be planted in fall so they can establish roots, then they wait for spring to start growing in earnest.

PLANTING: In most parts of the country, you want to plant your cloves about six weeks before your winter freezing weather sets in. This is to allow the cloves to send down roots and get established in the soil before hard freezing weather sets in. This keeps the garlics from being forced up and out of the soil during hard freezes and thaws. As you plant your cloves, be sure to add some good quality compost and a tablespoon of bonemeal to the bottom of the hole so the plants will have some excellent nutrition to draw upon. I plant mine about three times the size of the clove or around three inches below the surface. If you live in a colder climate with significant freezing, then do plant deeper to protect the cloves, and consider mulching, just like you do when you plant bulbs like tulips and daffodils. Water in the cloves and you are done till spring!

OK, spring has arrived and you anxiously watch the plot for any sign of growth.........and there they are! Now is the time to fertilize with some nitrogen based fertilizer or compost as you can see in my picture at the top right of the page. We fertilized with a home made mix of compost, bonemeal, canola seed meal, dolomite lime, and potash. We also set up watering through soaker hoses so that we watered the plants, not the weeds.

Weeding is crucial! Let me repeat...... weeding is crucial! The next most important chore you need to be vigilant about is weeding! Garlics do not want to compete with other vegetation! So semi-weekly weeding with a hoe is necessary. Do not dig down in the ground around the plants or you can tear up the developing bulbs. Just a light scratching of the soil is all you need to keep the weeds at bay. I use a "hula hoe" and love it!

HARVESTING: By the first of July, I can see that my crop is getting ready to be harvested. How do I know? First of all, the weather has gotten hotter so I know that the bulbs are forming underground and secondly by observing the plants. Now the tops are starting to brown and die back, a sure sign that harvest time is near. So I stop watering about ten days to two weeks before harvesting. This is necessary so the plants can start to "hardened" the outside of the bulbs.

Mid July is here and it's time to harvest. The plants have now browned to about 60-75 percent. I gently pull on the first plant and it comes up easily! Of course, mine are planted more shallow than most of you will do so the bulb is nearer the surface. Most gardeners will need to gently spade around the plant in order to get the bulb loosened and pulled up.

CURING AND STORAGE: Now all that is left is to "cure" the bulbs and store for usage. Curing refers to allowing the bulbs to dry out in a warm but shaded area. Don't wash your plants but let the soil dry naturally, then brush off when you are ready to store or hang. I am drying mine on a pallet so that air can circulated around the plants. As you can see by the picture, garlics need to be dried in a single layer. Drying takes from two to three weeks depending on the weather or your choice of storage area. Some people will braided them and hang for curing. What is important is that the plants have good circulation of warm, dry air so that mold and mildew doesn't take hold. When your garlics are done curing, then clip off the top to about 1.5 inches from the bulb and you may snip back the roots. Garlics can be stored in a dark, dry, cool place such as a basement, storage room etc and used as needed. Check them periodically as some varieties do not store as long as others. Ideal storage temperatures would be in the 40's to 50's. Don't forget to keep your biggest and best bulbs for this year's fall planting! Rotate your crops each year. Garlics are pretty much pest free but can pick up soil diseases which can devastate a crop.

Thanks for reading my tutorial on garlic growing. This tutorial is from my own personal experience so soils, growing conditions and weather may be different for your location and you may need to amend these guidelines to fit your situation. A great source for information on garlic growing is your local county extension office. Ask to speak to a Master Gardener or stop by and pick up a helpful brochure on garlic growing. Most of all, have fun in your garden!

ALL NATURAL BUG SRAY: Here is a simple homemade recipe for an effective bug spray for your garden!" Place one peeled onion, two peeled garlic cloves and 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, 3 cups of water and blend until smooth. Let the mixture sit overnight, then carefully strain the liquid into a spray bottle. I bet this would be effective in discouraging Fido or Fluffy from using your favorite rose bush or flower bed as a toliet! Refigerate unused solution and discard after thirty days.

Happy Gardening! Joyce Moore

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Joyce Moore is an avid home gardener and a graduate of OSU Master Gardener program in 2000. Her love of gardening and plants led her to start her own home based seed company in 1998. Please visit her at http://www.virtualseeds.com for more online home gardening tutorials.

Sculpture Can Bring Life To Your Garden

Writen by Beau Smith

I should know: I've been a sculptor most of my life, and I have plenty of years behind me of experience. Most of my sculptures reside in the gardens and landscaped outdoors of residences. My work is also in public places such as parks and downtown areas. But in this article, I want to focus on residences.

I'm going to suggest what kind of sculpture to look for. Let me begin by saying that your garden and landscaped outdoors is a sacred place. But of course you know that, otherwise you wouldn't be reading this article. The outdoors of your residence, being a sacred place, deserves art that is exceptional. So you have to spend a little more for it. Listen, you get what you pay for. Further, you get the experience you pay for. The nice thing about original art is that, even though you pay more for it, you get more. The life of a work of sculpture should be indefinite. It should be able to remain outdoors without withering away. So, the initial investment is more. But you get more, a lot more. I would go so far as to say that original art for the garden is the best outdoor art investment, if, of course, you can find work that is truly art and not junk disguised as art.

Probably, you will want to include, in your outdoor sanctuary, human-crafted items that are not art: cement casts, gravel, building materials, and so on. Here, you want to integrate these items with the landscape. It is fine if the cement casting of Saint Francis has moss growing on it. Ivy trickling over a retaining wall is desirable. But when you put the art in this setting, you want to show it off. If you don't want to show it off, don't buy it. The sculpture should be the capstone, what brings everything together. The sculpture should enhance and amplify the life of your outdoor landscape. The sculpture should provide a doorway into the majesty of the garden and landscape. All you need do is look at the sculpture and you feel a connection to nature. You can be looking at the sculpture from a window inside your home, or you can be outside. Either way, the sculpture connects you to nature.

I don't, then, advise you buy works of craft to deposit here and there in your outdoor landscape. Don't do that unless the work of craft has sentimental value or is in some other way exceptional to you. Craft is cheaper than art: cheap in price and cheap in QUALITY. Instead, buy less and get more. If you can only afford one original work of sculpture, do that rather than buy many craft pieces. Your outdoor landscape is not going anywhere and neither is the art, especially if you secure it, which you should, and which it is possible to do without making such securing permanent.

Before you become worried that you will have to pay dearly for original art, let me reassure you: You can find original art at a moderate and affordable price. You can find it on the Net and you can probably find it locally as well, especially if you live near a city. Many garden shops sell sculptures on consignment. That's one good place to look. But there are many. I don't suggest galleries because the work will be too expensive. If expense is not so much a concern, then go to the galleries. Go to the galleries anyway because here there is a weeding out process and you are more likely to find exceptional art and thereby have more awareness of what's good.

For deals, you might find one at the gift shop of a botanical gardens. I have my work in the Atlanta Botanical Gardens gift shop. There, my work is moderately priced and exceptional. But what you can also do is look around a botanical garden and see if you can find original sculpture that appeals. You can then inquire at the gift shop or at the front counter or call the gardens. Because botanical gardens and similar places of beauty are set up primarily as non-profit, they are not going to want a large commission for referring an artist. As you know, galleries are infamous for insisting on taking a large portion of the sale for themselves, as much as 60 percent. I suggest going to the expensive places to get a feel for good art (though not all of it is good, I have to tell you). Then shop around. The only danger here is that you may find, in the galleries, a sculptor you like so much you just have to own his work. Well, that's the danger. If price is an issue, I don't think this will be too much of a problem.

How does one spot inexpensive-but-exceptional original sculpture? This is what you look for: Sculptures made with materials and techniques available to craftspeople and folk artists. The difference between craft and art should be evident. Art is of higher quality. You will also know when someone produces higher caliber work because that work sells for more than craft, but not so much more than you cannot afford it. A sculptor may have work that goes outside of your budget. Many who inquire about my large frog sculptures decide quickly that the price is too high for them. Even so, my frog sculptures are incredibly affordable considering that I am a highly skilled artisan as well as a professional sculptor with over 16 years of professional experience. Further, the large sculptures I produce are comparable to bronzes, at a fraction of the cost. But I also produce smaller work that is quite affordable. I do so because I want people to gain interest in possibly buying a larger work later.

Don't buy craft. A craftsperson makes the same thing over and over again. That's not art. It may seem that I produce the same thing over and over again. After all, I am making large human-size copper frogs. How different can each one be? Very. Each piece is incredibly unique. I learn something from each piece I build. An artist can focus on one theme and never repeat himself, even though his designs may seem or actually be similar.

A craftsperson who wants to make a living will often find he has to hire others to help him crank out his pieces. This is not art. This is moving in the direction of factory-made shlock. Even so, something made by hand does offer warmth and life that a factory-made item cannot. But wouldn't you rather have original art? Nature itself is so beautiful that it deserves only the best from us.

Very few materials can stand the test of time outside. Original art for outdoors will have to be made of metal, clay, cement, stone, glass, or a combination. Wood will not stand the test of time outdoors. Neither will synthetic resins. One sculptor friend of mine recycles old farm equipment and the like. He works primarily in stainless steel, and his work is exceptional. This is a method: Working with recycled metals. Not every artist is capable of achieving art through any given medium, this one included. I have seen plenty of sculpture that is unexceptional.

What makes a sculpture, or any other piece of art, for that matter, exceptional? Art has life. The sculpture lives, it breathes, it has substance and depth. You cannot help but to feel that it is a part of your landscape, a force just as much alive as the plants and the creatures that inhabit your outdoor landscape.

So plan for original art to live in your outdoor landscape. Look around. You can find a deal and get original art that's good. It is worth the effort. Once you have the art, you enjoy it for as long as you decide to keep it, which may be for the rest of your life. Such a purchase, then, is worth taking time over. Happy hunting.

Beau Smith is a professional sculptor with 16 years professional experience sculpting large, human-sized copper frogs. He also writes about art. He has written and published one book on his sculptures, and written, designed, and published his web site, beautifulfrog.com.