Best Gardening Tips and Projects - 2011

For me, 2011 was one busy and exciting year for gardening. There were so many highlights (and a few lowlights) that peppered most of the year. One was the first bloom ever from our Mysore Clock Vine (T.mysorensis).

We planted two vines from cuttings we took from Tagaytay and the highlands of Batangas two years ago. It was a long wait, so you could imagine the sheer joy we felt after seeing the first flower. Sadly, the joy was short lived. After another flower, the vines have not bloomed since.

A Gardening Secret Tool for Projects

As a hobbyist around the garden, I've dabbled on simple garden projects from plugging holes and cracks on a concrete wall to building garden wire trellises. In many of these garden projects, I found an exceptionally versatile product that you can work with so much ease and has proven to be indispensable, at least for me.

The product I'm referring to is epoxy clay. This epoxy clay, as pictured below is advertised as a wet and dry sealant, meaning, supposedly, you can apply it on wet and dry surfaces.

Free Organic Fertilizer - Cow Manure Shoveling

Talk of organic fertlizers and animal manure is up there in the top 5 if not top 3, in my opinion.

I remember scooping up carabao droppings with a shovel by the roadside when I was young. Farmers then rode carabaos to the fields and these animals would poop just about anywhere. This was in my youth when carabao manure was the only fertilizer I used to feed a lone grapevine.

Sadly, I don't remember that grapevine bearing any substantial amount of fruits until it died!

With fertilizers, I still feel though that "organic" is the way to go. That's because it is cheap, if not free.

Strong Jointed Garden Wire Trellis

A wire garden trellis relies on a sturdy interconnection of metal wires for vines to climb a pre-defined garden trellis design. Although there are a few methods for joining crossed trellis wires, one must choose the method that best addresses the purpose of the garden trellis project. Garden vines that are expected to become robust and heavy in the future would definitely require thicker wires and stronger joins at the wire intersection.

In my experience, the use of epoxy clay for joining metal wires is always the easiest method to do. You only need a little of the clay portions, a small bowl of water to facilitate mixing and you're ready to mix the clay and apply. The result is often a neat-looking and adequately strong wire joint as shown below.

Methods to Join Garden Trellis Wires

I've often made various types of wire trellises in the garden. These trellises are usually wall-mounted and provide a valuable garden structure for many garden vines to climb. Garden wire trellises would typically have wires crossing each other to form square or diamond patterns.

Shown below is a flowering young Bleeding Heart vine (Clerodendrum thomsoniae) growing on a wall-mounted garden trellis. The trellis is made from wire with a 12" x 12" square pattern on a 8 ft. by 6 ft. frame. It is anchored to the wall with long L-hooks screwed to the concrete wall. The wires have been painted (brown) to weather the elements.

Growing Garden Vine Saplings - Thunbergia Grandiflora

In a recent post, I discussed a flourishing T.grandiflora vine that I trained in a garden pot with a built-in bamboo trellis. This vine was from a group of seven very young vines or saplings that my wife and I saw by the roadside. This is at a college campus where we went to find seedlings of the T.grandiflora.

We were a bit skeptical yet very much hopeful in growing this lovely Thunbergia grandiflora vine. From the seven young saplings, here's the biggest and healthiest-looking that I separated to grow on the trellis.

Trellised Thunbergia Grandiflora in a Garden Pot

From the loot of seven Thunbergia grandiflora small saplings we took home, all seven survived. That's an excellent survival rate but then, these are saplings. They have rooted well already and will continue to grow unless you intentionally kill them. Internet sources say T.grandiflora is easily propagated by cuttings.

Build a Wire Trellis on Faux Stone Panel

Faux stone panels have long been used as decorative siding tiles on walls and masonry projects. The tiles, which give the impression of stones joined together, adds a 3-dimensional interesting texture to an otherwise smooth and plain structure like a wall or post.

For some, a structure decorated with faux stone panel tiles is enough. For eager gardeners however, adorning such decorated structures with trellised vines adds the nice green accent of natural foliage to the cold facade of stone. Assembling a garden wire trellis on faux stone panel isn't difficult. It's mostly a matter of knowing the properties or characteristics of faux stone panels, which will allow you to find the suitable wall anchors and their placement on the panel.

Effective Deterrent Against Invasive Climbing Vines

Many months ago, my Thunbergia mysorensis (Mysore Clock Vine) grew so lush that vine shoots started climbing the guy wires that support a utility pole near the property's perimeter. Removing the vine branches from their firm grip on the guy wires was difficult. I thought of joining the two guy wires together with duct tape so the vine won't be twining either one of the two vines. See the photo below.

It worked well initially. But then the duct tape joining the two wires started to deteriorate. The tape cracked and became torn. Much of it peeled away to the point that the garden vine shoots managed to slip through the torn flaps. Aside from being an eyesore, it became so ineffective that I had to severely cut back the now thick foliage of the garden vine. The removed foliage exposed the right side of the trellis as shown below.

Garden Pruning Scissors Quick Cleaning Tips

In my long experience as an avid gardener, I've always appreciated the ready availability of reliable garden tools. It is quite frustrating to search for garden tools for half the time while in the garden. Equally irritating is to realize that the found garden tool isn't working as expected for some reason, e.g., jammed, rusty or dirty.

Gardening is supposed to be an enjoyable and relaxing experience and so I avoid getting into this situation especially on a daily basis. That's right. Everyday, it has been my early morning ritual to deadhead plants whether for spent blooms or unwanted shoots. Although deadheading can be done manually, I prefer to use a pair of garden pruning scissors.

Cheap Garden Pots Using Coconut Shells

The coconut tree is sometimes touted as the tree of life especially for countries in Southeast Asia. Almost all parts of the tree can be used.

The leaves and fronds are used for many handicrafts and all sorts of matting material. The roots have some use in cooking. The tree trunk is nowadays used for cheap coco lumber. The fruit of course has a 1001 uses - mostly for cooking, eating and beverage. Its usage extends even at the stage when the spent fruit is already considered agricultural waste.