Online Tips from Gardening Experts

Bud Grafting

This technique is normally referred to as building. It is a popular and reliable method for grafting bush roses. Budding takes place in summer, usually on roses that are growing in the ground or in containers. The difference between budding and grafting is in the material used. Whereas both whip-and-tongue and saddle grafting use two stems of the desired variety, with bud grafting a single growth bud is grafted onto a rootstock. An ordinary sharp knife can be used for making the cuts, but a budding knife is best. This has a flattened end to the handle for opening the rootstock.

1. Select a well-ripened stem of the current year’s growth, making sure that there are dormant buds at the leaf axils. Remove the stem and take off all the leaves. Prepare the bud before opening the rootstock. Cut a single bud from the selected stem with the minimum of wood. Remove the sliver of wood from under the bark using the point of the knife and discard. This leaves the bud and the cambium layer attached to the bark. Keep the bud moist while you prepare the rootstock i.e., the simplest method is to hold it between your lips. It will be difficult to talk and don’t chew on it!

2. Now prepare the rootstock to receive the bud. Make a horizontal cut 1-2 inches above ground level and discard the top growth. Clean the stem of the rootstock with a rag.

3. Once the neck of the rootstock is clear you are ready to bud.

Explanation of Bud Grafting

4. Make a T-shaped cut deep enough to expose the cambium layer below the bark. The stroke of the T should be less than 1/2 inch long; the upward cut 1 inch long.

5. Use the flattened end of the knife handle to open the two flaps of bark on the rootstock. Slip the prepared bud, pointing upward, under the flaps of bark, making sure that the two cambium layers are together. Trim any surplus bud bark level with the stroke of the T.

6. Secure the union with raffia above and below, avoiding the bud. Some gardeners prefer to use budding strips made of thin rubber. These may be stretched over the bud union and held with an open staple.

Once the bud starts to grow, you can remove the raffia (If you use a rubber strip, it will perish). In early spring, cut the rootstock above the new bud growth leaving it to flourish and flower that summer.

vegetable gardening thumbnail

The best way of keeping yourself healthy is taking vitamins in the most natural way. As they are abundantly found in fresh green vegetables, it is always better to eat vegetables that are grown in your garden rather than those available in the cold storage of the market. However, there are a few concerns that should be taken care of before cultivating vegetables and spinach in your home garden. Vegetable gardening is an art as well as a science. Therefore few steps should be followed and few points have to be noticed.

First, we have to think that plants in your ground grow and develop provided they get all the conditions necessary for their very existence on earth. If the soil is enriched with adequate nitrogen the plant suck this element from the roots and supply in the body. Then when sun rays hit the leaves, the Chlorophyll particles get activated and the cells are charged with ATP (Adenosin Tri Phosphate) which is called the resource of energy and food for the plants. So to keep the process going, Nitrogen takes a vital importance here as it provides the material for your plants.

Volatile supply of Nitrogen may disturb the natural process of Photosynthesis and check the growth of the cells and tissues. The chlorophyll particles in the leaves are green in colour and when in need of Nitrogen the green plants are prone to catch disease like clorosys. This causes the leaves to turn yellow or brown, so preservation of Nitrogen in the soil is very important.

But Nitrogen may etherealize easily and then your plants may fall short of its natural requirement for it. Or due to excessive rain Nitrogen can be washed away. But when you find your plant getting yellow due to lack of nitrogen, it is advisable to mix some quantity of nitrogen with the soil for your plants’ proper growth and nutrition. Those who are inexperienced in gardening and harvesting think perhaps it is due to lack of water and why is it turning yellow. Therefore as they shower more water on the plants, more nitrogen dissolves away from it.

Vegetable Gardening

Here we recommend you to buy a tester that takes the reading of the level of nitrogen in the soil. And if you find that it is below optimum levels, you may increase the level of nitrogen in the soil by adding some natural fertilizer like blood fish, animal waste, soybeans , alfalfa because these things contain nitrogen to a great extent. Thus harvest in your home garden, eat healthy and feel healthy.