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Houseplants – The House Plants Bugs And How To Get Rid Of Them

May 8, 2010 By Crissy Leave a Comment

Having houseplants can make for a wonderful experience when you first walk in the door. Not only do your houseplants make your house look better, they also make it healthier by produce fresh air and getting rid of the excess carbon dioxide in your house. This is nothing to sneeze at either since the air in our house is much worse for us then the air we breath outside.

That being said there is a downside to having house plants. The downside is being the house plants bugs but if handled properly, having houseplants can really be a wonderful thing.

Insects are unavoidable if your plants are not properly taken care of and even if they are well taken care of house plants bugs can turn up through no fault of your own.

A lot of the house plants bugs are brought into your house when you buy plants that are already infected without your knowledge. You should always carefully check your new plants for bugs before you put them by any of your other plants. When your able to keep your new plants in quarantine to avoid the infestation of your older plants.

The other reason for house plants bugs is if you are not taking care of your plants properly. While some of the house plant bugs are not harmful to your plants at all other will slowly kill your houseplants by using the nutrients that your plant need to survive. That and if you are like me, having thousands of soil knats in my house is something I simply will not stand for.

Here are some common house plants bugs to be on the lookout for:

Soil Knats – You know your plant has soil knats when you water your plant and the dirt starts to move and you have little bugs flying all over your house.

Aphids – You can detect aphids by looking for small spots on the surface of the parts of the plant.

Mealy Bugs – They look like small cottony like cysts.

Scales - Scales are hard to find because they live on the root of the plants.

Spider Mites – You can find these by looking for their little webs.

So know that you know what the houseplants bugs are how do you get rid of them?

1. For many of the larger bugs you can simply handpick them off. Using a portable vacuum cleaner is advisable for getting rid of white flies.

2. Syringing House Plants. Use a jet of water to knock the bugs off of the plants.

3. Make small changes in the watering of your plants. Soil that is to moist is a breeding ground for many bug and desert dry soil is perfect for spiders.

4. Use traps – Those sticky yellow traps work great for catching houseplant bugs.

5. Getting rid of sick and highly infested plants before they have a chance to infest the rest of your plants.

6. This is specific to soil knats. Soil knats multiply by the thousands everyday because they only have a life span of 24-48 hours. They also love moist dirt. The first time I got soil knats I got this great idea to try to drown them out by watering the plants heavy. Bad move! They loved it. I tried everything I could think of to get rid of those buggers. What finally worked was sticking a basil plant next to the infected plants.

Why basil?

I have no idea! All I know is that the soil knats disappeared completely within 3 days and what is more, I love to cook with fresh herbs so I like having my basil plants.

No matter what kind of house plants bugs you get with a little bit a work and determination you can get rid of them and still have wonderful healthy houseplants.

Filed Under: House Plants Tagged With: house bugs, house plant, house plants bugs, houseplants

Herb Gardening With Kids – The Simple And Fun Way

April 23, 2010 By Crissy Leave a Comment

Gardening with kids can be an excellent way to get your kids involved in nature. It is sneakily educational, teaches them how to help provide for themselves, and will give them a memory that will last a lifetime. In today’s busy world it is one of the few things that actually lets us slow down with our kids and really enjoy spending time together.

Even if you do not have the time or room to grow a big garden you can still get the benefits of gardening with kids by planting a little herb garden.

There are many options available to you when deciding how you would like to grow herbs with your kids.

The Traditional Way To Grow Herbs

The traditional way of growing herbs with your kids is to get some small pots, fill them with dirt, and plant seeds. You can get a variety of seeds at just about any gardening center and if it is in the spring you can probably even find them at your local grocery store.

Before you plant you seeds you are going to want to place them in a glass of water for 24 hours. This will do two things. The first is it will give your seeds a jump start on germinating and the second is it will tell you which ones you should plant. Any seeds still floating after 24 hours are most likely dead seeds so only plant the ones that sink to the bottom of the glass.

You will want to put 3-4 seeds in each pot and then cover with a thin layer of dirt. After you put the seeds in the dirt you are going to want to water them carefully, making sure that the seeds stay covered. Or if you would like (this is how I normally do it) before you plant the seeds water the soil thoroughly using warm (not hot) water and then push the seeds in about 1/2 an inch down.

Watering the soil first will not only help the seed to not get displaced but by using warm water it gives the seeds a little push to start growing faster.

After you have planted the seeds place a piece of syran wrap over the tops of the pots to act as a miniature greenhouse. Make sure they are in indirect sunlight. If you put them in direct sunlight it will burn your plants. The syran wrap will help the soil stay warm and moist. As soon as your seedlings emerge loosen up the syran wrap. Slowly take it off over the course of the next few days.

Using An Herb Kit

Herb kits are an easy and fun way to grow herbs. Most of them come with little plastic greenhouses, dirt discs, and even seeds. In fact if your kids are a little bit older they can probably follow the directions themselves to grow the herbs. The only thing they might need help with is the transplanting of the herbs when they get bigger because the seedlings are fragile.

Gardens In A Bag

The only thing required to grow gardens in a bag is water. The bag that you buy will actually act as the pot and it already has everything in it you need. That means no mess from using soil or anything else. Gardens in a bag are available in many stores and also online. This would be good for if you have small children and you are looking to get them interested in gardening without all of the mess.

Buying The Plants

If growing your own herbs from seeds is not appealing to you then you can go to any garden center and buy the plants that you would like to grow. Then you can get your kids to help you repot them and also take care of them.

Gardening with kids can be a lot of fun and provides memories to last a life time no matter how you choose to grow your plants.

If your kids are old enough you can take gardening with kids one step further. Teach them how to make good food by flavoring the food with the herbs that they have grown.

Remember that when you are gardening with kids to relax and make it a fun experience for both you and your kids.

Filed Under: Herb Garden, Kids Gardening Tagged With: gardening with kids, herb gardening, herb gardening with kids

Flowering House Plants – What You Need To Know Before Buying Your Indoor Flowering Plants!

April 21, 2010 By Crissy Leave a Comment

Gardening is a true art form that is cherished by many people all around the world. The love of gardening is not just limited to having gardens outside either; lots of people love to garden inside with herbs, some vegetables, and of course the beloved houseplants.

With the most sought after houseplants being of the flowering variety. Since you have the choice of such a vast array of species and colors, flowering house plants can really make your home a beautiful and healthier place to be.

That being said, if you have never bought indoor flowering plants before you might not find it quite as easy of a task as you originally thought.

So here are some useful ideas and tips for buying and taking care of those wonderfully colorful houseplants!

Tips for buying flowering house plants: If you follow these tips it will help you when selecting your indoor flowering plants it will help ensure that you get the most colorful and longest lasting flowering plants possible.

1. When you are deciding which plant to buy don’t necessarily go with the one that has the showiest flowers right now. You want to look for the one that has buds still on it and has flowers that are not fully bloomed.

2. Make sure you read the directions on the plant to make sure that you will be providing it with the best possible environment for it to bloom. That means you need to figure out where you would like to put your plants before you buy them and not the other way around.

3. Look at the leaves of the plant you are considering. If they are getting brown around the edges or have some leaves that are shriveling, brown, or dry then you might want to pass.

4. Look around the area. Are their little bugs flying around the plants? I’m not talking about regular flies but little knat looking things. If there are you should consider buying plants from some where else. If you buy a plant that is infested and you have other plants at home they will all be infested within 1 or 2 days.

So what happens if you see a plant you simply love but it has little knats?

When you take the plant home Do Not take it into your house right away. You need to repot it before you do making sure that any dirt or containers that came with your flowering house plant are not used. Take the plant out of its original dirt and pot and discard them in an air tight bag. Carefully clean off the roots of the plant with lukewarm water until there is no dirt left on them. Repot your plant with fresh dirt and pot. Leave it outside or in your garage for a few days to make sure no little bugs appear before settling your new flowering indoor plant into its new home.

Filed Under: Featured, House Plants Tagged With: flowering house plants, flowering houseplants, indoor flowering plants

Growing Strawberries In Pots

April 14, 2010 By Crissy Leave a Comment

Have you ever wished you could grow your own juicy, mouthwatering, bright red strawberries? Well of course you can but don’t just put the strawberries in the ground!

The best way to have your own strawberries is by growing strawberries in pots.

Why should you use pots when growing strawberries?

Great question!

Strawberry plants grow by sending out runners and if you do not keep them contained they will over take everything else in your garden much like planting mint.

In order to avoid your entire garden turning into strawberries it is suggest to grow strawberries in pots or in raised beds.

Raised beds also work wonders for containing strawberry plants and also allow you to plant many more strawberry plants then you would otherwise be able to.

So what do you need to know about growing strawberries in pots?

One important thing is to make sure that you put more then one strawberry shoot into your pot or container.

Strawberries also like well draining soil so when you are preparing your soil it is a good idea to use a mixture of miracle grow, perolite, and small rocks. This will keep the dirt loose and moist but will also let the excess water drain out of your pot.

Strawberries are also a huge fan of sunlight so make sure that when you are growing strawberries in pots that you keep them in full sun throughout the day. This will provide you with the biggest and sweetest strawberries you can have.

How long do strawberry plants live for?

Strawberry plants usually produce at their peak until they are about 4-5 years old and then it is time to replace them. Keep in mind though that strawberry plants do not really produce an abundant crop the first year so don’t get disappointed if you only get a few strawberries the first season. They will produce better the next year.

It’s also a good idea to plant a second pot a year or so before the first on needs replaced so you will always have an abundant crop to enjoy.

Happy strawberry planting!

Filed Under: Featured, Growing Strawberries Tagged With: Growing Strawberries, growing strawberries in pots, strawberry

Starting Plants From Seeds

April 12, 2010 By Crissy Leave a Comment

Starting plants from seeds sounds easy, right? No big deal you think. Stick some seeds in dirt, water them, and watch your plants grow. Well not quite. If you have tried and failed it’s not your fault. Some things require a little bit more then having a green thumb then others.

Planting seeds and growing strong healthy plants is one of them.

The first thing you need to be aware of when planting seeds is that they need indirect sunlight especially if you use one of those jiffy pot things that act as a green house.

If you stick the seeds directly in the sunlight chances are really good that you will be cooking them so it is no wonder they will not grow.

You need to keep the dirt moist at all times while the seeds are germinating.

Don’t have your own mini greenhouse?

No problems. A piece of Saran wrap covering the gardening container works wonders and acts as a mini greenhouse.

Once your first seedling pops through the dirt you need to pull the plastic back to give it some fresh air.

Don’t stick your seedling in the direct sunlight just yet though. You need to let them get used to the sunlight. Every day move your seedlings a little bit closer to the sunlight while turning your plant a quarter of a turn.

This will keep your seedlings from growing awkwardly by trying to reach the sunlight.

After a few days take the plastic all the way off of the gardening containers and turn on a small fan on low and point it at your seedlings.

This will accomplish two things:

The first is it will keep mold from growing on your seedlings and dirt which will cause stem rot which is one of the biggest killers of fragile seedlings.

The second is that it will make the stem good and strong so that your plant can grow big and strong. The constant swaying is what makes the roots and stems grow strong. At nursery’s they actually gently run their fingertips along to top of the plants a few times a day to accomplish the same things.

Are your plants sprouting up like string beans?

If they are that is a sure fire sign that your little seedlings are getting way to much water and their poor little stalks won’t be able to support them much longer. Hold off watering them for a few days to see if they get stockier instead of longer.

Follow these tips and you will be well on your way to successfully starting plants from seeds!

Filed Under: Featured, Seed Gardening Tagged With: growing plants from seeds, making seeds grow, starting plants from seeds

How To Plant Rose Bushes

April 12, 2010 By Crissy Leave a Comment

Yes, there is a certain way to plant your rose bushes if you want them to survive and flourish for years to come. So… How do you plant rose bushes?

The first thing you need to do before you plant your bushes is to dig a hole. Not just any hole, a big hole. Rose bushes need lots of room for their roots to grow and they have delicate roots so they will not be able to push through hard soil.

When you dig your hole you should be aiming for anywhere between 1 1/2 feet deep and 1 1/2 feet wide to 2 feet deep and two feet wide. The bigger the better because that will give the roots plenty of room to roam.

So you have your hole. Now what?

Next you are going to need to make a dirt mixture to put in the hole. You should not use the soil that you took out especially if it is hard dirt like clay dirt. Use a mixture of half and half miracle grow and peat moss.

The peat moss will keep the soil from getting too dense and will also help hold moisture in the dirt for the rose bushes.

Next, at the bottom of your hole you want to build a mound about 2/3′s of the way up in the whole with the mound coming to a point in the middle and sloping down to the bottom.

Carefully untangle the roots of your rose bush and place the base of the roots on the top of the mound spreading the rest of the roots down the slopes.

How can you tell if your rose bush is the correct height?

At the base of the rose bush you will see a nub where the bush has been spliced. You need to make sure that when the whole is filled with dirt that this nub is above the dirt.

This is where the rose bush get it’s sunlight to stay healthy.

When your rose bush is at the correct height then fill the rest of the hole in with your dirt mixture, gently pat the dirt down and give it a good drink of water.

When you are watering your rose bushes try to avoid getting the leaves and roses wet especially if the sun is shining.

Now sit back and enjoy your beautiful rose bushes. They should be blooming soon!

Filed Under: Featured, Rose Gardening Tagged With: how to plant rose bushes, planting roses, rose bushes, taking care of roses