Category: Vegetable Farming

A smart way to increase your gardening will be lightened with the growing of raised beds and improve the aesthetic of your garden. If you are new to gardening reduce the margin for error with the help of growing raised bed.

Raised bed gardening is not the perfect technique for getting success. But every technique should have certain mistakes to hide the success.

If you have limited space for gardening, then the raised bed gardening is perfect. Here are the best tips to fill your raised beds for cheaper and also made the pallet gardens which are fit in the space. Raised bed technique is a better choice to do but it requires more work and effort. 

1. Raised beds are too wide

One of the best advantages of the raised bed gardening is to avoid soil compaction. You can easily work on them without stepping into it. Which gives ultimately strong and healthier plants due to better soil structure?

The gardening raised beds width is too large then it prevents you while working on it within your reach, so you have stepped inside the bed it will defeat the major purpose of the raised bed.

Because of this reason raised beds are not more than four feet wide. Without any issue or problem, most of the people will reach within the center comfortably in four feet wide raised bed. I have experienced about this four feet wide span is more comfortable for me.

While choosing your raised bed, firstly you have to consider the location of the bed where to place it. If the location must be next to fence. I recommend not exceed than thirty inches with this you can work on it easily from one side itself.

 2. Don’t plan to irrigation

Hand watering is good for irrigation but you have to plan how to irrigate the beds within a specified time with new techniques.

Mostly I recommend drip irrigation or soaker hoses for raised beds. If you have a large number of raised beds then drip irrigation is fine for that and it works great and cost less also. Soaker hoses are for a few raised beds they will perform fine.

Also Read: Importance of farming in our life

3. Unsafe material used

It is important to know where you live and how was the climate then decide what kind of material should be used to build raised beds. Wood is a common choice for the raised bed because it is inexpensive and easy to obtain.

But don’t use the pressure-treated wood for raised beds because before 2003 manufactured pressure-treated wood contains chromate copper arsenate and it will harmful.

Many people are using chemical-free and rot-resistant wood such as cedar or redwood but it was somewhat expensive.

Before build raised beds, do you research first and avoid old railways ties which contain creosote which is harmful to human and plants also.

4. Lack of nutrients in soil

Are you thinking about using native soil which is cheap because it is already there? But most of them don’t have good soil to start with. Then you have to test the soil you will get the information about the soil and decide it can amend your native soil to work with it or you have to start from starch.

The best thing for raised beds is by using a combination of garden soil with compost. But it depends upon your budget and availability.

5. Skipping to mulch

Normal gardens cant dry as quickly as raised beds so keep your plants happy with the help of mulching it will retain moisture and cut down on weeds.

In wet seasons it acts like a sponge absorbs the water while excess rainfall in dry times and it will regulate the moisture in heat of summer. You can compare mulched raised beds healthier than without them.

6. Neglecting your pathways

Harmful chemicals used nearby raised beds can destroy your garden. Even if you used these kinds of chemicals in your yard the toxins can flow through the wind into the beds and kill your plants. So take precautions for the safety of your raised beds from harmful chemicals.

The pathways among your raised beds will likely develop weeds and grass at a few points. However, in preference to making plans to mow and spray them, you may create a barrier. Flattened cardboard containers with a small layer of natural mulch on the pinnacle are a clean cure, and the substances will remain longer than different options.

7. Label everything

The one common mishap goes for all gardening, but it is always repeating. Label your plants while planting them and what they are. You can also use it to set up a spreadsheet or else label them physically in the beds.

This is very important while dealing with boxes of dirt it looks like the same until the growth will be started. So you can’t get an idea about the things that are growing in the eastern corner of the fourth bed until the end of July.

Also Read: Growing the Microgreen Broccoli

8. Failing Poly tunnels

If you do not connect the tunnel to the raised bed, you will seriously miss the opportunity. You already have the ideal setup for a raised bed tunnel. You can easily extend the growing season on both sides by building flower beds on them. Once the spring gets warmer, you can remove the tunnel and add it back when the weather gets cold again at the end of the season.

9. Orientation

If you planting your garden in the wrong place is a big mistake and it is very difficult to correct or relocate the correct location once you fill the soil in the raised bed, watering system, and plants too.

Now set up the raised beds as per the sun rays fall on the plants. It requires five to six hours of sunlight each day for vegetable plants.

Placing plants north-south side is better to get sunlight. It will receive the maximum amount of sunlight.

10. Doing the same crop every year in the same location

You can rotate your crops for a single year because it will overrepresented certain fungal diseases, nutrients, and pests in the soil if you don’t rotate the crop in the field. While planting thought about the same crop will not be planted in the same location for every year.

Of course, no matter how you plan, there is no better teacher than experience. When pulling up the bunk, you may encounter an obstacle that you never dreamed of. This is good. Take this lesson and upgrade your raised bed in the next season, please be sure to let us know what your difficulties are so that we can learn too.

Are you searching for a fast-growing root crop to plant in containers? Then why not trying growing beet that is simple! It is the answer to your need.

You don’t like the spicy bite of radish, although these roots grow crops fast too, the radish can yield sooner than beets.

The beet crop prefers cold weather and spring-fall then you will be allowed to utilize summer crops for growing containers crops after you harvest them. That’s wonderful! Let’s continue to learn how to grow beets in containers.

Choosing the container:

Here you have to consider a container for growing the beet in the garden in almost any climatic or soil condition is completely fine too. 

The size of the container should matters when planting beets in them. If you consider the smaller container then the soil in it dries out and less room for its root has to grow.

Depth is the most important factor to consider when growing radish or beet in a container, but a container that is too large is also difficult to move and expensive to fill properly. Moving them from a small container to a larger container is something that plants hate, so it’s important to grow them in a permanent container, 

However, you can use biodegradable pots like peat, newspapers, and other organic materials for transplanting if you like. 

This material quickly decomposes in the soil, so the seedlings can be transplanted without removing from such a pot, without damaging the roots when handling. 

Beets are ready to transplant when they have the first few true leaves, it is too late to transplant when they are older, which increases the likelihood of shock to the plant, resulting in stunted growth.

 There must be enough space for the beets to grow normally. Therefore, it is very important to choose a container that is at least 10 inches deep. 

When choosing a beet pot, make sure it has drainage holes and is deep enough for normal root growth. You must consider the successful growth of beets.

Preparing potting soil:

Beets can adapt to any type of soil but you prefer the better which is provided with rich in nutrients, well-drained, loose, and aerated soil with a pH of 6.5 to 7.5.

Beetroots are heavy feeders, therefore the initial potting soil of the plant needed with high nutrients and also the addition of some amount of soil amendment during the growing period such as compost and organic amendments that are the smart idea. 

Also Read: Turnip Farming Information Guide

Location to Plant Beet:

Beets needed full sun and cold temperature to flourish. When the temperature increases the best way to cool the soil is the addition of a deep layer of mulch to the soil.

Hence, be sure about the plants receive full sunlight every day it will produce the best beet taste and which permits them to grow with their potential.

Planting Beets in the Container:

Prepare the Beet Container:

At the bottom of the empty container place the layer of small rocks which serves as the adequate soil drainage barrier. Make sure about the soil does not become waterlogged.

Filling the Potting Soil:

Fill the container with potting soil and if you want to remove any small pebbles, and gravels in the soil.

Pre-soak the Seed Overnight:

Usually, the beetroot seeds have a hard seed coat. Therefore, it requires much time to germinate. To speed up the germination process you have pre-soaked the seeds overnight in water. It will help to soften the seed’s hard coat. Then it allows the seeds to sprout fast.

Start Planting:

When sowing seeds, start at a medium depth in the container. You can sow radish seeds in any direction for a full harvest. Make sure there is at least an inch between the edge of the bowl and the beets. 

Cover and Water the Seeds:

Sow the seeds well and cover the pot to keep the soil moist. After a few weeks, the beets will sprout.

Thinning of Seedlings: 

When most of the seeds begin to sprout, trim the seedlings thinly to leave enough space about 3 inches apart. 

Seedlings can be cut off the base of unnecessary seedlings with scissors or gently pulled out with your hands, but when pulling out, you need to be careful not to damage the remaining healthy beets.

Water the Plants Enough:

Now that the beets are laid, most of your task will be to water them as the plants grow. 

You must keep the soil moist, but not waterlogged. Waterlogging can lead to the rotting of the beets. 

Water the beets every other day in outdoor containers. Always try to cultivate the soil as best you can to determine if the plant needs water.

Adding Fertilizers:

It is essential to add fertilizers to your plant after a month and be sure about the instructions on the back of your fertilizer bag should be followed and get ready for one-time application.

This will increase sugar beet production and ensure a quality harvest. 

Radishes quickly consume nutrients from the soil, so you need to fertilize them once during their growth. 

Compost containing NPK equivalent or homemade compost is sufficient to provide the necessary nutrients.

Also Read: Why Are My Radishes Growing Above Ground 

Proper Care for Growing Beets:

• Beets love bright sunshine, but they don’t like hot weather or dry conditions, so consider your climate when growing beets. 
• Adding a deep layer of mulch to cool the soil is ideal when temperatures are too high.
•  Water the plant to keep the beets soft and prevents discoloration. 
• Use row cover to avoid problems such as pests and leaf diggers. 
• Keep the plant organized by removing damaged leaves as it grows. 
• Beets grow in nutrient-rich soil without additional fertilization. They produce larger leaves but smaller roots.

Harvesting the Beets:

• Most growers harvest beets once they are concerning an inch in diameter for delicious flavor, however no more than 2½ inches in diameter. 
• Beets tend to become woody if left in the ground for too long.
•  Dig the trench to see the beets are large enough to use. 
• Hold the stem firmly to prevent bleeding that can get the plant wet when harvesting beets.
•  In addition, just before severe frosts is the ideal time for harvesting. Store freshly harvested plants in a cool, dry place.

Sweet potatoes have nothing to do with ordinary potatoes. Orange-fleshed sweet potatoes are the most well-known, but sweet potatoes can be white, yellow, or even purple. Sweet potatoes grow slowly and are always planted in spring because they require four months of high temperature to develop.

The tuber is fully grown, but it grows surprisingly easily. Because the roots of vines touch the ground, some plants can produce large amounts of crops. There are also various shrubs in the small garden.

How to planting sweet potatoes?

Sweet potatoes can be grown in poor soil but deformed roots are develops in heavy clay or long or stringy in sandy dirt. For producing 8 to 10 pounds of potatoes in a single 10 foot row create a perfect environment of about  long , wide,10-inch-high ridges spaced 3 ½ feet apart.

Avoid nitrogen rich fertilizer can produce stunted tubes and lush vines and add plenty of compost to sweet potato field. In north, with the help of black plastics covered the rows of sweet potatoes to keep soil warm and promote strong growth.

It is better to plant root sprouts, known as slips, available in nurseries. Store few roots from your crop for the next year.

Nearly six weeks about to plant sweet potatoes outdoors in your area. Keep the roots in a container with moist sand, saw dust and chopped leaves in a warm spot. Planted sweet potatoes reach 6 to 9 inches long, cut their root. From each slip remove bottom inch and throw away because sometimes that portion harbours disease organisms.

Sweet potatoes extremely frost sensitive and mature in 90 to 170 days. Plant them in full sun after the last frost when the soil has warmed. For planting make the deep hole of 6 inches and 12 inches apart. Conceal all the slips up to top leaves and press the soil down tenderly but firmly and water well.

Also Read: Sweet Potato Farming Information Guide

How to grow sweet potatoes?

If black plastics are not used, for smooth weeds mulch the vines nearly two week after planting, conserve moisture, and for the root development keep the soil loose. Hardly lift longer vines to place them from rooting at the joints, or they put their energy into forming several undersized tubers at rooted area rather than mellowing the main crop at base of the plant. Otherwise, handle plants to prevent wounds that vulnerable disease spores.

In dry weather conditions, maintain 1 inch of water per week until two week before harvest, then the soil dry out little bit. Don’t overwater them, plants can withstand better in dry spell than rainy ones.

How to avoid pests?

Northern gardeners are not more likely encounter pest problems than gardeners in southern area.

Sweet potato weevils with dark blue head and wings puncture stems and tubers to lay eggs. Growing larvae tunnel and feed on the fresh roots and the adults are attacks on leaves and vines. It also spread foot rot with that enlarge brown to black areas on stems near the soil and at the stem extreme. From then weevils multiply quickly then hard to eliminate, use certified virus resistant slips and practice a four year crop rotation. With household trash throw away destroy infected plants and their roots.

Black rots are a fungal disease which results in circular, dark depression on tubers. Dispose the infected potatoes and cure the undamaged roots from the same crop cautiously. Don’t be confused about this disease which creates round, small, dark spots on tuber surface but doesn’t change eating quality and taste.

Reduce the chance of disease by planting healthy slips and avoid dark black spot stem rot by planting resistant cultivator and keep the fresh roots between 55 to 60 degree.

Also Read: How to Grow Organic Potatoes in Your Garden

Harvesting sweet potatoes

Sweet potato tubers can be harvested in about three to four months, depending on the variety; if you prefer to eat the leaves as vegetables, you can eat them in moderation throughout the season; remember to allow enough time to grow plants.

Once the leaves turn yellow, the tubers can be dug out. If the frost hits the leaves, then the tubers are probably fine. Just don’t let them sit on the ground too long after the tips are dry, or they may start to work. Rotting is careful when digging sweet potato tubers near the surface. Their skin is delicate and easily damaged or scratched.

Propagation sweet potatoes

• During winter seasons you can save tubers and plant them in spring with these below steps.
• Before the first frost fall dig up the tubers.
• Store them in a peat, vermiculite or other dry material over the winter.
• Place them in a cool, dry place without light.
• During spring the tubers will start to sprout. Cut them into pieces as each piece has at least one eye.
• After the threat of frost passed away plant them in the garden and maintain the temperature at least 60 degree Fahrenheit.

Don’t interchange sweet potatoes for regular potatoes they two are not related. To get more flavour from these sweet potatoes extend their shelf life, place them in a warm and dry place for about 10 to 15 days before eating.

Are you shocked or not? Sugar can also used for gardening! We have recited 8 common ways to use sugar in garden.

Most people do not know that sugar has amazing benefits and their effective uses in the garden. You can use sugar in your garden in several ways and it is efficient and beneficial. Therefore, from this post, we will learn 8 surprising sugar uses in garden that you should definitely try this. Move ahead scroll down and learn about them.

Uses of Sugar in the Garden

1. Use sugar to clean dirty hands

Probably it’s the best choice to use sugar for hand wash to clean hands after gardening. You know that sugar is one of the natural solutions which can easily clean your hands. You also used it for face wash.

For cleaning use 1 table spoon of sugar and little water then wash the face or hands as normal. This works better for cleaning soiled, greasy and oily hands.

Also Read: How To Plant Sugarcane – A Complete Beginner’s Guide

2. Make cut flowers last longer

With the addition of sugar in the vase can increase the endurance of cut flowers. Simply mix a tablespoon of sugar in the vase of water and all done. Sugar rejuvenates the blossoms and helps them to live longer, hence the solution can produce bacterial growth and water smells bad and negatively impacts the cut flower. To prevent this frequently add a tablespoon of vinegar to it.

Also Read: How to Germinate Chilli Seeds

3. Natural trap for pests

House flies and fruit flies can make a several problems in home and garden. If you are fighting with them in garden, so try this sugar fly trap. This solution works well for those who are attracted for sweet things. To make this solution, boil ¼ cup of sugar, ¼ cup of honey, 2 tablespoons of water in a pan over low heat as far as sugar dissolved. Dip the pieces of brown packaging paper in the mixture and hang them.

4. Get rid of nematodes

If the plants are wilting and dying for no reason in your garden, then check out their roots for knots which are caused by nematode feeding. If you use sugar it encourages the activity of bacteria and micro organism that can create hostile environment for the nematodes. To prevent nematodes you can also grow marigold.

To get rid of it sprinkles 5 pounds of sugar for every 250 square feet of garden.

Also Read: How Long Does Sugarcane Take To Grow

5. Grass stain remover

If you got grass stains on your cloth after working in garden. They can be challenging task for removing those stains, but if you have a sugar and the water you don’t worry about them.

Take ½ cup of sugar in a bowl and add warm water to it for making paste. Apply this paste on the stain and soak it for ½ an hour then wash it normally.

6. Ant Killer

If you want relieve from ants try this recipe to get rid of it. Combine 1 cup of sugar and 2 tablespoons of borax powder and pour it in a 2 cup of warm water. Soak cotton balls in this solution and keep them in areas where ants are. So they will surely get these balls because they love sugar and then borax will kill them.

7. Feed the butterflies, bees, and hummingbird

If you found any bee or other nectar feeding creature? You can feed a clean solution of sugar water to help them. In a saucepan 1 cup of boiled water, ¼ cup of sugar stirs it in water until dissolved. Cut the sponges into smaller rectangle shaped and make small hole in sponge.

Cut the 7 inch thread through sponge. Dive the sponge into the solution until fully sucked, allow excess to drip from the sponge then hang it to arms or wings or anywhere else for your winged friends. From this pollination will occur.

8. Feed Plants

If you want to give extra nutrients to your plants with the solution of vinegar, sugar and water. First, combine 1 tablespoon of vinegar and 1 tablespoon of sugar for every 8 ounce of water in container. Then apply of feed it to your plant as they needed!

Also Read: What Happens If You Use Vinegar in Your Garden: 19 Miracles of Vinegar

These are the most surprising sugar uses in gardens. These uses will help you to have a better and more beneficial gardening experience. Don’t pause to try them then you will be impressed by the results.

I have done a too many mistakes killing precious greens because of overwatering, so consider growing plants directly in water.

Growing in water means there is no watering the plants for every next day and no messy soil for it. Don’t need any hydroponic systems for these plants, your never feel guilty about drowning them. 

  Does it make sound really good to you? Hence, let’s start!

HOW TO GROW PLANTS IN WATER

• Firstly take a plant you want to grow in water
• After that take a cutting from the existing plant.
• Then choose a glass vessel or jar with thinner neck for plant support
• Keep it in a room with bright and indirect light. at that site the temperature does not change too often, but slightly warm
• At last wait for your plant to grow.

1. Philodendron

Philodendrons are low maintenance plant. It can grow quickly in a tap of water in a jar, it tolerate bright and low light. It can give a more natural and inviting atmosphere with their lush and trailing leaves. If you are see it grown in a pot of soil, usually it can be flourish beautifully in water.

From the existing plant cut off about six inches to propagate philodendron. Afterwards place the cutting in a glass of water and wait for ten days then you will observe roots starting to form.

Also Read: 10 Houseplants That Will Thrive in Your Kitchen

2. Spider plant

The spider plant is the best plant in water propagation because it is easy to care without soil. You can easily plant it snip off its spiderettes and root them in water to create new one.

It’s my personal favorite because it give me less stress due to its highly adaptable in nature. It can tolerate lot of misuses, it was excellent for them those who are thinking about they are not blessed by green thumb.

Its sounds may frightened, but believe me spider plant do not have poison glands. It named as due to spiderettes or the spider like plants hanging down from its mother plant. 

3. Wandering Jew

Wandering Jew is a zebra stripped variety and bright purple leaves. It will add some life to the room or else add some color to your garden. If you are allergic to pollen from flowers then wandering Jew is good for you.

It can adapt to houseplant life, if you thrive in a room with moderate light. Stat to cut wandering Jew stem to grow in water. If you are cutting about six inches is easier to grow than smaller one. Place the cutted plant in a glass or clear jar with water as like the leaves should be out of the water to avoid rotting.

I recommend you to use glass or a clear jar it always fascinate to see the roots growing under water.

4. Lucky bamboo

Bamboo plants appear in offices, homes, or on desks. It will bring good luck and fortune in your home or office with this houseplant. Lucky bamboo has standing for being virtually immortal. It can survive in a vase full of water and board range of light conditions with its tough stalks. Hence, avoid direct sunlight while it scorches the leaves. If you notice that the green color is fading, it’s better to provide more light on it.

5. Fiddle leaf fig

The fiddle leaf is one of the incredible indoor plant with featuring large, violin shaped leaves. It commonly thrives in warm and wet conditions. It is super easy to grow this plant in water. Propagating in water just after four weeks you will notice roots are appears on cutting stem base. Hence, couple of more weeks you will observe roots growing in water. In a few times you will get a tons of fiddle leaf figs, you can sell for a good price or even share with your friends.

6. Pothos (Devil’s Ivy)

Pothos is an incredible houseplant which can improve indoor air quality, it can be done by removing of carbon dioxide and other contaminants from air around it and provide supplemental oxygen. It sounds really cool right? I know it have an impressive fact that its ability to withstand quite a bit of neglect.

Hence, growing pothos in water can be little bit tricky because of algae build-up. It became natural results of water and sunlight. If you use dark colored vase to minimize sunlight, it can also reduce algae buildup. You can prevent all sorts of problems with enough care and enjoy a healthy, luscious plant.

7. Chinese evergreen

Have you observed plastic Chinese evergreen plant in stores or in some people homes? I know I have.

After this plant they are actually modeled fake houseplant. If you are really exaggerated to grow Chinese evergreen plant, it is relatively easy to grow in water. Cut the six inches of existing Chinese evergreen plant and keep them in a vase filled with water. Be sure about the cutting is long enough is submerged under water and few leaves are above the water line.

Remember that indirect sunlight requires growing the plant in water. So it’s good to keep the container on a window sill. Wait for few weeks and then you will observe the roots come under the submerged parts of the stem.

Also Read: 7 Houseplants that Reduce Dust and Particulate Matter  

8. African violet

If you want to grow the plants in water from leaves is a best way to start with new African violet plants. It is good to choose healthy, young leaves cut with about two inches of the stem. Keep them to dry and after a month roots are begin to form on the stem.

9. Baby’s tears

Baby tears are a low growing plant featuring with a mass like appearance with stem that can be quite chubby. It can produce a myriad of small round leaves, create a opaque trailing mat. When adorned decoratively over the edge of the vase it works well with its spreading and creeping forms. Once you keep it in a jar for growing it does not require a lot of horizontal space, it will glow like a heavy head of green hair.

You have to change the water once a week. Although, remove the leaves that are floating in a water, which are start to rot.

SO WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?

If you are not having enough space or garden in your backyard or hate the messy soil in houseplant is not be the reason for not having greenery at your home. You don’t be afraid about drowning them because they need sunlight and water to survive.

 Plants’ growing in water is not only convenient and easy, but it brings lots of benefits to your daily living.

Here you’re introducing flowers to a vegetable garden which comes with perks and the addition of beauty. Usage of flowers in a companion planting, which helps to deter pests and attracts pollinators. Interplantation will also save time and space if you grow many plants in one place.

Without companion benefits, the vegetable garden is more likely to plant flowers that are intended for cuttings. If you’re cut them as you select the vegetables for dinner. Here are the few edible flowers that can be grown in your vegetable garden.

1. Pot marigold calendula officinalis

Calendula or pot marigold is not a family related to the marigold of genus tagetes. It is considered an edible flower and has a bitter flavor. It has an orange color which livens up a plate. In the garden, it repels few pests such as tomato hornworm, and asparagus beetles but attracts a few of them including aphids.

You can use it as a trap crop placing it on another side of the vegetable garden away from the plants that can often attack like peas.

It can be grown in the US development zone from 9 to 11. It has distinct colors such as orange, yellow, pink, and cream. It can face the full sun to part shade. To improve the growth of this flower the potting soil should be rich in nutrients, slightly acidic to neutral, and well-drained.

Also Read: 9 Incredible Plants You Can Easily Grow in Water

2. Cosmos

Few flowers grow as easily and as much as the cosmos flower. And these flowers can be planted in the garden because they attract many beneficial insects. For example, if you want to paint the scarabs green, choose a bright white or orange, such as Space Orange. 

Green beetles are voracious, eating all kinds of soft-bodied insects, including aphids, scales, and thrips, so they are considered beneficial insects and make them their home in their garden, which will help to prevent pest problems. It has distinct colors such as pink, yellow, purple, red, and white. It is exposed to full sun with moderate moisture and well-drained soil.

3. Lavender

Lavender flower is difficult to grow from seeds, so buy from the nearest garden center or cut from the growing plant. it loves cool winters and hot dry summers. Several varieties are hardy in zone 5-9 check out your specific variety and it likes well-drained soil and lots of suns. It has a distinct taste like rosemary/mint combo flavor and like all herbs blooms edible. Truthfully, lavender has so many uses at home. 

4. Nasturtium

Nasturtium is one of the best edible flowers that will grow in the container. It has upright varieties with distinct colors like a sunset (think oranges, reds, and yellows).

Its seedlings are planted in the warm soil in the spring. Darkness is required for germination so start them indoors. Once the seedlings are sprouted and are ready to transplant outdoor then place at full sun location. In zone 4-8 treated as annuals and in 9-11 treated as hardy and it cannot survive in freezing temperature. 

The whole parts of the plant are edible: petals, leaves, and seeds. The flavor of each part is distinct such as leaves are spicy, flowers are sweeter. I use the nasturtium-infused vinegar for salads and dipping bread for making sweets.

5. Sunflower

It is the best flower for the vegetable garden and it makes trellises for climbing plants that have a lot of nectar to attract pollinators.

Ultimately, it has a problem with squirrels because they attract growing seeds but you have to save seeds. Plant the coarse-leaved vegetable squash near the sunflowers can make to deter animals. It is an annual plant with different colors yellow, red, burgundy and chocolate. It is exposed to full sun in well-drained and moist soil.  

6. Sweet pea

Sweet pea seeds are poisonous for humans but few creatures find them delicious. If you find difficulty when placing them in your flower garden, plant them in a vegetable garden for protection is an alternative. 

Growing sweet peas along with pole beans is a trap to squeeze them into the garden to attract more pollinators to your beans. They cannot cross-pollinate with edible peas due to different genera.

It is also an annual plant with various colors such as red, pink, blue, purple, and white and it is exposed to full sun with medium moisture and well-drained soil. 

Also Read: 9 Best Black Succulents those are Incredibly Beautiful

7. Zinnia

It is also an annual plant with distinct varieties red, pink, yellow, orange, lilac, purple, green, and white. It is exposed to full sun in the well-drained soil.

Planting zinnia plant in the vegetable garden which allows using them for the filling gaps between the vegetable garden because 

Nectar is rich in zinnia flower which acts as a magnet for the bees, popular with the hummingbird and other pollinators.

Pale, pastel varieties appear attractive to Japanese beetles and can be used as traps. On the other hand, you might not want to plant anything that attracts Japanese beetles unless you already have the problem you are trying to solve.

8. Roses

Rose flower is also edible and it offers a sweet flavor with a slight spice. The leaves are good for making tea similarly tastes like black tea. The rosebuds have to dry and use them in different dishes to the addition of flavor and use petals for salads, infuse in honey and garnish desserts, and so on. 

The flavor of the flower depends upon the type, color, and soil conditions. The heavy darker petals give more flavor but before consuming remove a white portion of the petals.

The rose hips are tasted like zesty crab apple which has full of antioxidants and rich in vitamin C. The rose hips are harvest when it becomes orange or red, not in green, cut them into halves and scrape out the seeds.

While purchasing roses be sure to choose a disease-resistant variety because roses are very disease-prone. Plant the rose in spring and select the location which is well-drained soil and full sun. In warm climatic conditions protect the plant.

Are you thinking about the things what not to compost in your backyard? You can compost most of things but you have to avoid 13 things you can’t compost. Find below!

Composting is a best way to prepare your own organic fertilizer which allows you to decompose the wastage of your garden and food wastage of your home, otherwise it will be thrown into the trash. Almost you can compost everything that is organic but there are few things that which you cant compost in large extend to avoid hassle. So find out what not to compost?

What not to compost?

1. Weeds

After cleaning the garden it might be tempted to damp the weeds and other unwanted in the bin in the spring. But keeping weeds in the pile, now that will be popping back up in the finished compost later once spread it in your garden.

 In case of your pile gets consistently hot- reaches a minimum of 140 degree Fahrenheit at least 2 weeks. Weed seeds can survive to sprout another day.

And for few invasive plants like as Japanese knotweed, requires only an inch of stem to regret.

It is good to leave them out, especially those weeds that are begun to flower.

2. Diseased Plants

Plant pathogens such as powdery mildew, black spot, rust, verticillium wilt and mosaic virus can survive the composting process and infect new plants in the next season.

Like weeds, diseased plants in compost need high temperatures to kill bacteria like Fungi, viruses and parasites completely. Even so, not all pathogens can be completely eradicated.

Make better use of its safety and keep it away from the packaging.

Also Read: 10 Houseplants That Will Thrive in Your Kitchen

3. Black Walnut

All parts of Juglans nigra, including branches, leaves, roots, bark, nuts, and shell, contain an organic compound called jugalone.

Jugalone production is an evolutionary characteristic of black walnut, giving it a significant advantage over other nearby plants. Root system inhibits metabolic enzymes and destroys photosynthesis.

 Apples, tomatoes, peppers, berries, asparagus and potatoes are few plants that are particularly sensitive to jugalone.

After being removed from the landscape, the jugalone will remain underground for several years.

Prevent any part of the black walnut from entering the compost pile to avoid contamination by walnut chemicals.

Also Read: 9 Best Black Succulents those are Incredibly Beautiful

4. Treated grass clippings

Excellent supplements to heap that provide nitrogen (cold) or carbon (dry).

Never put grass clippings that have been treated with insecticides, herbicides or other chemicals in the compost.

Treated grass destroys the composting process of harmful microorganisms.

To make matters worse, using finished compost for edible plants increases the toxins in the food stream.

5. Glossy paper products

Magazines, catalogs, spam, newsprint, brochures, food packaging, and glossy business cards should be included keep away from compost.

These materials are treated with a special coating to form a smooth and shiny surface. The coating is usually composed of clay minerals, but can also contain synthetic additives such as polyethylene.

The shiny products added to the pile will not degrade properly and will immerse the plastic chemicals in the finished compost.

If in doubt, please recycle any shiny materials and choose plain paper to add to the stack.

6. Cat and Dog Poop

The manure from herbivores is the best source of nitrogen and perfectly good addition of heap. Carnivores’ animals and pets poop can be strictly kept away. Omnivores can contain harmful pathogens and parasites which are not eliminate while composting. If the finished compost applied around the food plants, it will contaminate the crop which causes health hazards. Dog and cat wastage keep away from the general compost heap.

Without using landfills eager to dispose this free renewable resource, pet waste can be composted when it placed in a pile away from the vegetable patch. Once it will be cheapen, used for non-edible trees, shrubs and plants.

7. Cooking Oils

In heap don’t add cooking oil, grease and fat

Waste oil can attract rodents into open compost piles and can also disrupt the composting process itself.

A large amount of oil leakage forms a watertight barrier around the carbon and nitrogen materials in the stack, preventing water absorption and reducing airflow.

The microorganisms that destroy it need water and oxygen, so soaking a pile with edible oil will only slow down or stop the activity of microorganisms.

However, you can compost very small amounts of vegetable oil. Spilled or leftover vegetable oil should be moistened with a paper towel or newspaper before discarding.

8. Meat

Meat and fish, whether cooked or raw, will attract scavengers when they start to deteriorate. Meat can also be very uncomfortable.

Although the meat is organic and adds valuable nutrients to this pile of meat, budding composers are not allowed to throw it away.

 If you tend to add a small amount of leftover meat, bury it deep in the pile and cover it with more carbon material to avoid odours in the empty pile.

You can also prevent scavenger leakage by using a compost bin with a sealed lid or using a fully insulated system such as bokashi.

Also Read: How to Start a Chicken Farm Business

9. Dairy Products

 Adding a small amount of milk, yogurt, ice cream and cheese is not a big problem, but adding sour or expired dairy products to the entire container will completely change the look, feel and taste of the composting environment.

10. Latex Products

Opinions seem to be divided on whether latex products such as condoms and balloons can be added.

In theory, natural latex is completely biodegradable. Latex is obtained from flowering plants. It is a milky liquid composed of starch, sugars, resins and gums. It will coagulate when it comes in contact with air.

 Balloons and condoms are a problem with composting because they are not 100% rubber. Latex and contains synthetic additives to give the final product tear resistance. Condoms may also contain other additives, such as lubricants and spermicides.

Experiments have shown that backyard balloons can last for several years. Even if you grind the latex product before adding it to the compost, you may inadvertently introduce unnatural elements into the organic compost.

11. Paraffin Wax

 Animal and vegetable waxes such as beeswax and soybean wax can be added to homemade compost. Cut them into small pieces, as they may take a long time to fall apart.

Anything made of paraffin—candles, wax paper, cheese wax, etc.—should not be composted.

Because paraffin is a by-product of fossil fuels. When petroleum, coal or shale oil is refined, a waxy substance is produced. It is separated from the oil with a solvent and distilled.

You really don’t want to pile petrochemical products on your pile, so always throw paraffin-containing products in the trash.

12. Treated and Engineered Wood

The use of sawdust, shavings and chips for processing wood products is prohibited. Treated wood contains chemical preservatives or synthetic binders, which can contaminate soil and food when composted in the garden.

 This includes pressurized wood and construction wood such as plywood, fiber board, particleboard and medium density fiber board. Varnished, stained, or painted wood should not be added to compost.

13. Bio-plastics

As an alternative to typical petrochemical plastics, bio-plastics made from plant materials and other renewable biomass materials are processed.

 In the past decade, bio-plastics have become more common and can take many forms, from thin and flexible bio bags, envelopes, food packaging, etc., to rigid applications such as tableware, straws, water bottles and containers Packaging materials.

Bio-plastics must be compostable on paper, because they are processed from plants.

Large-scale systems can generate high temperatures for a long time, and at the same time have a perfectly balanced moisture and oxygen environment: for example, compared with traditional plastics, bio-plastics thrown into the sea take decades to decompose!

Unless bio-plastics are specifically designed and labelled for home composting, don’t pile them in a pile.