Being a gardening television star is a nice job, if you can get it. Paul James, the host of HGTV's Gardening by the Yard, says it has a downside, though--he can't get all his gardening chores done in a timely manner. Of course, the rest of you may have equally busy schedules. Because of his time constraints, Paul has to cram all he can into one or two days a month. Here, in his own words, is how he copes: "The-Day-in-the-Life-of-Me-in-the-Yard-and-Garden-Segment begins with firing up the sprinkler. I have done an entire show on watering wisely, so I'm not going to remind you of how important it is to water early in the morning as a means of conserving water and preventing fungal diseases and to deep-soak each time you water to encourage roots to grow deep into the soil. "In the front of my house and yard I deadheaded my irises, which bloomed a month before and had since formed seed heads. You may recall that by removing the seed heads or faded blossoms from a number of flowers, you can encourage more flowering or promote more vigorous foliar growth. I also placed some plant supports on my potted gladiolas to keep them from falling over. This should be done when the plants are young. Such supports, available for all kinds and sizes of plants, can be used throughout the garden. What's more, they're made of plastic-coated steel, which means they won't rust and can last nearly forever. I also deadheaded some container-grown plants, all of which require a thick layer of mulch to keep them from drying out too quickly in the heat of summer. "I had hoped to mow the lawn, but the dew was still too thick, and mowing a wet lawn results in a clogged mower deck. I used my time instead checking my new strawberry crop. The red-and-white alpine strawberries fetch big bucks in European markets, where they're extremely popular. Although tiny, they are without a doubt the sweetest-tasting strawberries I've ever popped in my mouth. "Alpine berries require the same care as their larger cousins. To get more plants, allow the runners to grow, select the healthiest-looking of the lot, pin the little plant at the end down to the soil, and let it grow. Once it's established, you can dig it and move it to the primary growing area or leave it where it is. Enrich the soil with manure or organic compost or both, and mulch your new plants with straw to keep the berries clean and prevent moisture loss in the soil. Protect your strawberries from being eaten by birds or snails. Slugs will take a big bite out of strawberries. Yuck! To keep the birds out, use netting over the entire bed. To deter slugs, rake away the mulch and put down a fresh layer, then border the bed with copper foil, surround plants with diatomaceous earth, or set out beer traps. The foil acts as a battery, actually shocking the slugs when they come in contact. The diatomaceous earth slices and dices their foot. Diatomaceous earth is also excellent to use as a dust to control insects. The beer traps attract the slugs: they get drunk and throw rocks at each other . . . Okay, not really, but they do fall in and drown. "Harvesting vegetables was next on my list. The first stop was the pepper patch, where I used pruners to pick the peppers rather than try to pull them off the plant. I do that because in the process of pulling on the peppers, you can easily pull off a branch or even uproot the entire plant. Purple peppers are interesting to look at and mighty tasty too. Keep in mind that nearly all green peppers will eventually turn red if left on the vine, but leaving them on the vine also slows down pepper production. "Any member of the Solanaceae family requires substantial heat to set fruit. Most peppers are annual plants, lasting only one season. A long, hot growing season is required. They should be planted outside after the soil has warmed or in a greenhouse; the temperature at night must remain above 55 degrees Fahrenheit. Fertilize once or twice after the plants become established, before blossoms set. All peppers require full sun, a fast-draining soil and regular water. "Harvest carrots shortly after a rain or after watering to prevent the tops from breaking off. For the same reason, grasp the top close to the root and gently pull straight up. Cut the tops off as soon as possible after you harvest: once a carrot is pulled, nutrients are drawn from the root to the top growth as a sort of survival reaction. Although the carrots you see in the store with the tops attached may appear fresher, they aren't necessarily so, and in most cases they're actually less nutritious and flavorful. "Carrots reach perfection only in good-textured soil that's free of stones and clods. Plant the long varieties only if you can provide this type of soil. Choose shorter varieties if your soil is coarse. Sow the seed thickly in rows 1' apart. Don't allow a crust to form on the soil surface. Prevent crusting by sprinkling frequently. Manure, excessive nitrogen or uneven soil moisture can cause forking and split roots. When the tops are 1" to 2" high, thin the rows to 1" to 2" apart. Thin again when they begin to crowd. Harvest the carrots at finger size for best texture and flavor. "Nearly all the crops that grow well during the cool months of fall--which are also the crops that grow well during the cool months of spring--must be sown in the heat of summer, which presents a few challenges. For instance, the ideal soil temperature for the germination of lettuce is around 50 degrees. To cool the soil before sowing the seeds, prepare a smooth seed bed, water well, and cover the entire bed with a thick layer of straw or hay. When it's time to plant the seeds, remove the straw. The soil will have cooled enough to allow for germination. After sowing the seeds, keep the bed moist by watering daily until consistently cooler temperatures arrive." Timesaving Tips With the busy lifestyles we all have today, it's hard to get around to all the necessary garden tasks. Here are two tips to make those chores easier: Keep your tools in one place so they're easy to get to. A plastic 5-gallon bucket works well as a storage bin for a selection of your most frequently used hand tools, and it's easy to carry around the garden. Keeping all your tools together will save you many a trip to the shed. When you rake, put your leaves in plastic bags, and let them compost there. This method saves the trouble of turning a compost pile, and once the leaves have composted, it's easy to take the bags to the desired spot and spread the compost around. To start the composting process, squeeze the air from the filled bags, poke holes in them to make sure air can reach the leaves, and add some water.
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