How to grow Garlic at home

How to Grow Garlic at Home
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Garlic is grown from the individual cloves. Each clove will produce one plant with a single bulb - which may in turn contain up to twenty cloves. When planting garlic, choose a garden site that gets plenty of sun and where the soil is not too damp. The cloves should be planted individually, upright and about an inch (25 mm) under the surface. Plant the cloves about 4 inches (100 mm) apart. Rows should be about 18 inches (450 mm) apart.garlic can protect other plants growing nearby against many ailments

Harvesting Garlic
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As garlic reaches maturity, the leaves will brown then die away. This is the cue that it is time to harvest your garlic crop. If you harvest too early the cloves will be very small, too late and the bulb will have split.Proper handling of garlic after it's been picked is almost as important as looking after it whilst it's growing. It's essential that garlic is dried properly, otherwise it will rot. The bulbs are often hung up in a cool, dry place. After a week or so, take them down and brush the dirt off gently - don't wash the bulbs at this stage.

Make your own rooting hormone

To make rooting hormone soak the yellow-tipped shoots of a weeping willow tree in water. A tea made from the bark of a willow tree is also effective. When using the shoots or bark soak them for 24 hours prior to using.

1) Gather a handful of willow twigs. Fresh branches work best so avoid fallen and dead twigs. All varieties of willow contain indolebutyric acid which is the active ingredient needed in a rooting hormone. This acid acts to reduce the plant cuttings ability to stop growth at the place of the wound (where you cut the leaf or stem).

2) Cut the willow stems into pieces about two to four inches long. You will want about 1 cups of clippings to make one half gallon of rooting hormone.

3) In a large container pour boiling water over the clippings and allow the mixture to steep overnight.

4) Store the rooting hormone in the refrigerator in a sealed container. The mixture will be viable for up to two months.

Some people have found that using honey makes an effective rooting hormone as well.

How to grow hibiscus from stem cuttings

The first step in starting a new hibiscus from cuttings is to take the cuttings from new growth in the spring or summer months. Use a pair of gardening scissors to gently cut a small piece of the new growth, about the length of a pencil. Leave only 2-3 leaves at the top of the cutting and remove any remaining leaves. Note: It is best to take several cuttings, as the hibiscus starts tend to do better when several are planted together.

Next, cut slits in a couple of the nodes near the bottom of the cutting. The nodes are the small bulges protruding from the stem. The new roots will emerge from the nodes you slit.

Now you will want to dip the nodes in a rooting compound, which can be purchased at your local nursery or gardening center. You may choose to make your own homemade rooting compound.

After you have dipped the nodes into the rooting compound, place the cuttings in a large pot that is filled with a growing medium. Perlite works very well for rooting the hibiscus, but as long as your growing medium is moist and well-drained, it should work nicely. Again, group together several cuttings in the pot for the best rooting growth.

Once you have placed your cuttings in the pot, place the pot in a water-filled tray. Be sure that the water is deep enough to cover the pot's drainage holes. This will allow the cuttings to soak up moisture from the bottom and ensure that the growing medium stays moist. Mist the cuttings often.

Keep the pot in partial sun and in temperatures ranging from 70 to 85 degrees. In about 6-8 weeks, your cuttings should root. Allow the rooted cuttings to become strong and established before transplanting them.

How to grow roses from Stem cuttings

Here's what you'll need:
- Rose Cuttings

- Pruners

- Rooting Hormone (available in most garden centers)

- Container with Sand or a Soil-less Potting Mix

- Plastic Bag (to cover the container) - Water

1.Remove the flower and leave about a 12" section of stem. The flower is using up all the plant's energy. If you want to encourage rooting, you need to refocus that energy on the plant's survival.

2.Remove all but the top 2 leaflets on the branch, cutting just above the top set of leaves. You need to remove the excess leaves for the same reason we removed the flower in Step #2. They're taking up too much of the plant's energy. However we want the branch to continue to photosynthesize and feed itself until the new roots form, so we need to leave a couple of leaves. A branch from a bush should have full 3-5 leaf leaflets. This is a cut rose and you don't always get full sets of leaves when you buy cut roses, so you have to make do.

3.Make a fresh cut on the bottom of the stem, just below a node (bump) and use your pruners to slice up into the bottom of the stem about 1/4", quartering it.

4.Rooting hormones spur the plant into developing new roots. They are absolutely required, but they do help. To use a rooting hormone, slightly wet the split stem tip and then dip it into the dry rooting hormone. Shake off any excess.

5.Plant the cutting in sand or potting mix. Poke a hole first, in the potting medium, and then insert the stem. Be careful not to rub off all the rooting hormone. Gently pat into place and water well.

6.Cover the cutting loosely, pot and all, with a plastic bag or plastic wrap and keep the soil moist. I like to put a tall stake into the pot, to hold the plastic away from the leaves. If the plastic touches the leaves, they remain wet and can succumb to a fungus disease. Along the same lines, make sure the condensation can escape from the plastic or the stem will rot. Now be patient, keep the soil moist and start checking in a couple of weeks to see if roots are forming. Check by gently tugging on the stem. If there's resistance, there are probably roots.

How to grow wheatgrass at home?

Easy Steps on How to Grow WheatgrassWheatgrass is very cheap and again, easy to grow. First, you need to soak the seeds for about half a day (10-12 hours) then drain it for another 10 to 12 hours. When it is completely dry, you can now sprinkle your seeds in almost any type of porous surface. Porous surfaces allow you to grow wheat grass because they enable the roots to attach and hold your wheatgrass to grow upright.
You can also choose to grow it over soil (it does not generally matter whether the soil is poor or not). Keep the seeds wet over indirect sunlight and above 60 Fahrenheit degrees and you will see them grow about 8 inches tall in a matter of 7 to 10 days.

Taking Care of Your Wheatgrass

The general rule for growing wheatgrass is to water them twice daily with a spray bottle or a watering can. This, coupled with maintaining optimum temperature, air circulation and humidity are the two basic maintenance procedures that they need. In about 7 to 10 days when your wheatgrass grows about 7 inches tall, you can start harvesting them.
Many people who lead busy lifestyles find it most convenient to use wheatgrass sprouters. These automatic sprouters allow you the benefit of planting your own wheat grass (or any type of seed, for that matter) with minimum effort. You do not need to worry about light conditions, pests hovering or soil quality. All you need to do is load the seeds and add in the water and harvest in a matter of days. Growing wheatgrass has never been as easy as it is today.