Plant propagation

Tags

clivia, Cutting (plant), cuttings, division, gardening, layering, nature, plant, propagation, Seed, seeds, vegetative propagation

Propagation is the term used to describe the process of plant reproduction. There are two categories of propagation, i.e. seminal and vegetative. Seminal propagation results from sowing seeds. Plants grown from seed are entirely unique and may differ from each other and from the parent plant. Vegetative propagation embraces all other techniques of reproduction such as cutting, grafting and layering and plants propagated in this manner are identical to their parents i.e. they are clones.

Cuttings

The terms softwood, semi-ripe and hardwood are to plant life the equivalent to the stages of infant, teenager and adult life in humans.

Softwood – is taken very early in the growing season, before there is any sign of hardening of the new shoots. They are green, both at the tip and base.

Semi-ripe – is taken at the end of the growing season when the tip of the stem is soft and green, but the base is hardening, going brown and starting to become woody.

Hardwood – is taken in the winter when the stem has become hardened and woody throughout its length.

Other terms used in cutting jargon are heel, stem and tip. These refer to the part of the stem that is being used for the cutting.

Heel cutting – the stem is torn off in a way that retains a portion of the parent branch – a heel – at its base. Heel cuttings are most often made from softwood or semi-ripe wood. They are normally about 3 to 15 cm long.

Stem cuttings – most often used for hardwood cuttings. They normally include 20 to 30 cm of the stem to provide a reservoir of nutrients so that the cutting can survive through the winter until growth begins in spring.

Tip cuttings – short portions 3 to 15cm long taken from the tips of the stems. These parts are used for softwood and semi-ripe cuttings.

The reason for the different types of cuttings is that some species will propagate more readily from a stem cutting than a root cutting. There are, however, many plants that will reproduce from more than one type of cutting.

Cuttings are encouraged to grow roots and to this end they require moisture, light and a clean, free draining soil. A dusting hormone in the form of rooting powder may be used to help cuttings take root. It is advisable to strip most of the leaves from the cutting in order to reduce the amount of moisture lost through transpiration, while the remaining leaves will add to the food reserves through photosynthesis.

Division

This is the quickest way to increase perennials that have a spreading rootstock and produce new shoots annually from the crown. Division is best carried out when the plant is dormant. Lift the parent plants and shake off excess soil from the roots. Separate the plants into sections using a garden fork, a spade or a sharp knife. Ensure that each plant has a good root system. Discard old or damaged pieces and replant the segments at the original depth of soil. Examples of this type of division include Agapanthus, Clivia, Iris, and Shasta Daisy.

Seed

Most seed is best sown as soon as ripe. If necessary, soak fruits in water first, then extract seeds by rubbing the flesh and leave to dry. Hard-coated seeds may need soaking or scarification before germination. Soak in recently boiled water from between 10 minutes to 72 hours, depending on the species. Viable seeds will swell and should be sown immediately in situ or in a tray or seedbed. Soil should be kept moist. Lightly cover the seeds with compost or soil. As a general rule, cover seeds with about their own depth of soil. Mix fine seeds with a little dry river sand, trickle them over the compost and do not cover. Ensure that the seeds are kept moist.

Stored in a dry place most seeds remain good for 2 to 3 years but germination rates gradually decline.

Layering, suckers and grafting

Layering is a simple method for increasing plants with stems that will produce roots if wounded. The stem is pegged into the ground and left to form roots, while still attached to the parent plant.

Suckering plants, such a Tecomaria, Wisteria and Plumbago, naturally produce suckers that may be detached and inserted as ready-rooted plants.

Grafting involves taking the stem of one plant and uniting it with the rootstock of a closely related plant. Roses and fruit trees are propagated in this way. Grafting is best left to the specialists.

Using Epsom salts in the garden

Tags

England, Epsom, Epsom Salt, epsom salts, Flowers, food, gardening, green tips, Magnesium, Magnesium sulfate, natural emollient, plant, plants, Soil, water

Are the leaves on your plants turning yellow ? Do you want more fruit and flowers?

These problems may be the result of a lack of magnesium in your soil, which prohibits roots from absorbing much-needed nutrients. Give your foliage and flowers a boost by using Epsom salt. Studies show that magnesium and sulfur, two major components of Epsom salt, may help plants grow greener with higher yields and more blooms.

This natural mineral, discovered in the well water of Epsom, England, has been used for hundreds of years, not only to fertilize plants but to treat a range of human and animal ailments. When magnesium sulfate is absorbed through the skin, such as in a bath, it draws toxins from the body, sedates the nervous system, reduces swelling, relaxes muscles, is a natural emollient, exfoliater, and much more.

Lawns: Apply three pounds for every 1,250 square feet with a spreader or dilute in water and apply with a sprayer.

Houseplants: Use two tablespoons per gallon of water; feed plants monthly.

Tomatoes and Peppers: Use one tablespoon per foot of plant height per plant; apply every two weeks to keep the leaves from yellowing.

Roses: Use one tablespoon per foot of plant height per plant; apply every two weeks. Also scratch 1/2 cup into soil at base to encourage flowering canes and healthy new basal cane growth. Soak unplanted bushes in one cup of Epsom Salt per gallon of water to help roots recover. Add one tablespoon of Epsom Salt to each hole at planting time.

Shrubs (evergreens, azaleas, rhododendron): Use one tablespoon per nine square feet. Apply over root zone every 2-4 weeks.

Trees: Apply two tablespoons per nine square feet. Apply over the root zone 3 times annually.

Garden Startup: Sprinkle one cup per 100 square feet. Mix into soil before planting.

Flowering plants: Put one tablespoon of Epsom Salt into one gallon of water. This mixture helps to force blooms.

Backyarddiva

The Amazing frozen Lemon

Tags

cancer, Cell (biology), Chemotherapy, Citrus, Doxorubicin, food, freezer section, garden, green tips, grow your own, health, home grown, Lemon, Lemonade, Malignancy, organic, plant, vegan, vegetarian

Amazing Frozen **Lemon**

Many professionals in restaurants and eateries are using or consuming the entire lemon and nothing is wasted.

How can you use the whole lemon without waste?

Simple.. place the lemon in the freezer section of your
refrigerator. Once the lemon is frozen, get your grater, and
shred the whole lemon (no need to peel it)and sprinkle it on
top of your foods.

Sprinkle it to your whisky, wine, vegetable salad, ice
cream, soup, noodles,spaghetti sauce, rice, sushi, fish
dishes.

All of the foods will unexpectedly have a wonderful taste,
something that you may have never tasted before. Most likely
, you only think of lemon juice and vitamin C. Not anymore.

Now that you’ve learned this lemon secret, you can use
lemon even in instant cup noodles.

What’s the major advantage of using the whole lemon other
than preventing waste and adding new taste to your dishes?

Well, you see lemon peels contain as much as 5 to 10 times
more vitamins than the lemon juice itself. And yes, that’s
what you’ve been wasting.

But from now on, by following this simple procedure of
freezing the whole lemon, then grating it on top of your
dishes, you can consume all of those nutrients and get even
healthier.

It’s also good that lemon peels are health rejuvenators in
eradicating toxic elements in the body.

So place your lemon in your freezer, and then grate it on
your meal every day. It is a key to make your foods tastier
and you get to live healthier and longer! That’s the lemon
secret! Better late than NEVER! The surprising benefits of
lemon!

Lemon (Citrus) is a miraculous product to kill cancer
cells. It is 10,000 times stronger than chemotherapy.

Why do we not know about that? Because there are
laboratories interested in making a synthetic version that
will bring them huge profits.

You can now help a friend in need by letting him/her know
that lemon juice is beneficial in preventing the disease.
Its taste is pleasant and it does not produce the horrific
effects of chemotherapy.

How many people will die while this closely guarded secret
is kept, so as not to jeopardize the beneficial
multimillionaires large corporations?

As you know, the lemon tree is known for its varieties of
lemons and limes.

You can eat the fruit in different ways: you can eat the
pulp, juice press, prepare drinks, sorbets, pastries, etc…
It is credited with many virtues, but the most interesting
is the effect it produces on cysts and tumors.

This plant is a proven remedy against cancers of all types.
Some say it is very useful in all variants of cancer. It is
considered also as an anti microbial spectrum against
bacterial infections and fungi, effective against internal
parasites and worms, it regulates blood pressure which is
too high and an antidepressant, combats stress and nervous
disorders.
The source of this information is fascinating: it comes
from one of the largest drug manufacturers in the world,
says that after more than 20 laboratory tests since 1970,
the extracts revealed that It destroys the malignant cells
in 12 cancers, including colon, breast, prostate, lung and
pancreas…
The compounds of this tree showed 10,000 times better than
the product Adriamycin, a drug normally used
chemotherapeutic in the world, slowing the growth of cancer
cells.

And what is even more astonishing: this type of therapy
with lemon extract only destroys malignant cancer cells and
it does not affect healthy cells.

This post was shared on Wild-crafting Wednesday 

Winter Savory- the forgotten Herb

Tags

Aromatherapy, bean weevils, candida, colds and flu, companion plant, companion planting, coughs, Essential oil, garden, gardening, health, Herb, herbal tea, home grown, nature, perennial  herb, plant, plants, respiratory ailments, satureja montana, Satureja montana Winter Savory, Southern Europe, white flowers, winter savory

Satureja montana

Winter Savory is an easy to grow perennial  herb with pretty little white flowers. It makes and ideal path edging, container plants, focal point for hanging baskets. The tiny white flowers set the bees humming and butterflies into a frenzy.  Pungent oils that contain thymol and linalool are released when crushing this herb.

It is a good companion plant for beans keeping bean weevils away, and roses reducing mildew and aphids, and tomatoes as it keep white-fly and aphids at bay.

Medicinal uses :Winter Savory is native to Southern Europe and North Africa. It has been used since ancient times to aid and stimulate digestion and ease colic and flatulence. Ancient texts show that Monks used it with honey to make a strong syrup for digestive problems as well as coughs, colds and chest ailments.

Modern research has also found that the essential oil extracted from Winter Savory is beneficial for Candida. A tea of winter savory drunk twice daily greatly relives the condition. (not for pregnant or breast-feeding woman).

For treating winter respiratory ailments, coughs, colds and flu add lemon and honey to the tea, drink 3 cups per day.

Cultivation : Winter Savory roots easily, plant cuttings 5-cm apart in full sun in well composted, well dug soil.

Culinary : I always dry Winter Savory and add it to my blend of mixed herbs. It goes well with beans and in a pasta sauce.

Winter Savory- the forgotten Herb

Tags

companion planting, Herb, plant, winter savory

Satureja montana

Winter Savory is an easy to grow perennial  herb with pretty little white flowers. It makes and ideal path edging, container plants, focal point for hanging baskets. The tiny white flowers set the bees humming and butterflies into a frenzy.  Pungent oils that contain thymol and linalool are released when crushing this herb.

It is a good companion plant for beans keeping bean weevils away, and roses reducing mildew and aphids, and tomatoes as it keep white-fly and aphids at bay.

Medicinal uses :Winter Savory is native to Southern Europe and North Africa. It has been used since ancient times to aid and stimulate digestion and ease colic and flatulence. Ancient texts show that Monks used it with honey to make a strong syrup for digestive problems as well as coughs, colds and chest ailments.

Modern research has also found that the essential oil extracted from Winter Savory is beneficial for Candida. A tea of winter savory drunk twice daily greatly relives the condition. (not for pregnant or breast-feeding woman).

For treating winter respiratory ailments, coughs, colds and flu add lemon and honey to the tea, drink 3 cups per day.

Cultivation : Winter Savory roots easily, plant cuttings 5-cm apart in full sun in well composted, well dug soil.

Culinary : I always dry Winter Savory and add it to my blend of mixed herbs. It goes well with beans and in a pasta sauce.

 

Naboom

Tags

Bird, Cape Town, environment, Euphorbia ingens, garden, Kwazulu-Natal, magnificent plant, Naboom, plant, plants, South African endemic plant, succulent, Wildlife

Naboom detail

Naboom

A few years ago while staying at a B & B in Kwazulu Natal, I took the smallest slip from a really neglected plant, never thinking for a moment that it would grow into this magnificent plant.

The Naboom (Euphorbia ingens) are easy to grow low maintenance plants, which make a wonderful addition to a rockery or succulent garden.

The flowers attract butterflies, bees and other insects, which collect pollen and nectar from them, pollinating the trees in the process. The seeds are a good source of food for many fruit and berry eating birds. Birds also like nesting in these trees; hole-nesting birds such as woodpeckers often use dead sections.

The latex of this tree is extremely toxic and can cause severe skin irritations, blindness and severe illness to humans and animals if swallowed.

 

Garden revamp

Tags

barren ground, buffalo lawn, feature garden, Flowers, garden, garden renovation, Gardens, home, Home and Garden, mature garden, organic, plant, plants, water feature

The 25000 plugs of Buffalo Lawn planted

a view to the Wate feature

This wall is going to have mirrors placed on it

The water feature

Random pots

Vebfore

Before

before

Six years ago I was called into this garden to create a feature garden out of barren ground. We created the water feature and gravelled the vast majority of it. Recently a Ficus in the garden had to be removed which upset the now mature garden. My client was very thrifty in saving all her plants by potting them up. As you can imagine there was a huge mess after the tree had been removed.

The new detail was to remove the gravel , rearrange the pavers and plant up with Buffalo lawn plugs all 25000 of them.

Milk and Mildew

Tags

Agriculture, compost, gardening, green tips, Horticulture, milk, Okra, organic, Pests and Diseases, plant, Powdery mildew, Vegetable, vegetable plant

Powdery mildew resembles a light dusting of flour on top of the leaves of the vegetable plant, it is actually caused by a fungus that is airborne. It can occur on just about any vegetable, even some fruits such as sage, tomatoes, beans, watermelons, honeydew, pumpkins and marrows

 

Mildew on Sage

 
What to do?

 

Normal milk will actually control powdery mildew and contains a natural foliar fertilizer, boosting the plant’s immune system in the process. A mixture of at least 10% milk mixed with 90% water will significantly reduce the severity of powdery mildew when sprayed weekly on the infected plant.

 

Powdery mildew, a Biotrophic Fungus (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

Marvelous Magnesium – Epsom Salts

Tags

England, Epsom, Epsom Salt, Magnesium, Magnesium sulfate, plant, Soil, water

Are the leaves on your plants turning yellow ? Do you want more fruit and flowers?

These problems may be the result of a lack of magnesium in your soil, which prohibits roots from absorbing much-needed nutrients. Give your foliage and flowers a boost by using Epsom salt. Studies show that magnesium and sulfur, two major components of Epsom salt, may help plants grow greener with higher yields and more blooms.

This natural mineral, discovered in the well water of Epsom, England, has been used for hundreds of years, not only to fertilize plants but to treat a range of human and animal ailments. When magnesium sulfate is absorbed through the skin, such as in a bath, it draws toxins from the body, sedates the nervous system, reduces swelling, relaxes muscles, is a natural emollient, exfoliater, and much more.

Lawns: Apply three pounds for every 1,250 square feet with a spreader or dilute in water and apply with a sprayer.

Houseplants: Use two tablespoons per gallon of water; feed plants monthly.

Tomatoes and Peppers: Use one tablespoon per foot of plant height per plant; apply every two weeks to keep the leaves from yellowing.

Roses: Use one tablespoon per foot of plant height per plant; apply every two weeks. Also scratch 1/2 cup into soil at base to encourage flowering canes and healthy new basal cane growth. Soak unplanted bushes in one cup of Epsom Salt per gallon of water to help roots recover. Add one tablespoon of Epsom Salt to each hole at planting time.

Shrubs (evergreens, azaleas, rhododendron): Use one tablespoon per nine square feet. Apply over root zone every 2-4 weeks.

Trees: Apply two tablespoons per nine square feet. Apply over the root zone 3 times annually.

Garden Startup: Sprinkle one cup per 100 square feet. Mix into soil before planting.

Flowering plants: Put one tablespoon of Epsom Salt into one gallon of water. This mixture helps to force blooms.

Backyarddiva

Related articles

• “Powerful Stuff”, Epsom Salts (forestgardenblog.wordpress.com)

Start an Elemental Organic Veggie garden – Workshop in Stanford

Tags

companion planting, compost, garden, Kitchen garden, Local Food Heroes, plant, soil preparation, Vegetable, vegetable garden, workshop

I have been asked by “Your Local Food Heroes”  to present a  vegetable and herb workshop  in Stanford on 16  November.

The workshop will be intensely practical and fun, teaching you how to start and grow your own vegetable garden covering soil preparation, composting, planning your garden, companion planting, seeds and seedlings.

Photo courtesy of Cath Croxton

Booking is essential as space is limited. Cath Croxton from Your Local Food Heroes can be emailed at croxton@gmail.com for details and bookings

Come along and learn how to put fresh, pesticide free food on your table all year round.

 

Related articles

• Install a vegetable garden (grassconsumeraction.wordpress.com)