California Home Gardening
California has one of the best climates in the entire United States of America. The state is blessed with moderate Mediterranean type of weather through out the year. Temperatures seldom go extreme hot or chilly cold; though water is at times in shortage. This climate in turn has given rise to various outdoor activities and hobbies. Home Gardening is a popular hobby for Californians.
Home Gardening in California, like any other place, essentially means growing herbs, flowers and vegetables in your own garden as a hobby or a small time occupation. One can grow a variety of flowers, herbs and vegetables based on the soil condition, water, seed, fertilizer availability and weather condition. Growing herbs in California can be quiet a challenge as it has a limited supply of water. This limits the choice of herbs and flowers one can grow. One can find people in California grow herbs which are “unthirsty” type of plants to improve their landscapes. A technique called Xeriscaping is put to use. Xeriscaping is essentially a set of techniques to grow beautiful landscapes on land which is dry and short of water. Xeriscaping promotes growing plants which can stand very less amount of available water and which grow slow. Xeriscaping doesn’t advocate growing the same variety of plants throughout the entire state of California because growing conditions are different in different parts of the state. The conditions required in the southern desert area of California are very different then the relatively greener northern area of the state. This means one can grow cactus in south and a leafier flower in the north.
Preparing the right soil bed is also critical. Usually the soil should be able to take it in an inch level of water within couple of hours. A good soil holds good quantity of water and nutrients. Californian soil is usually dry and should be watered more. However, this can increase you water bill. Hence, above mentioned techniques like Xeriscaping is required. If you test the soil and find its content not suitable for planting, add fertilizers and other chemicals accordingly. If you prepare to install new irrigation systems, it makes sense to do the soil treatment before installation. Usually as the season changes from summer to winter, Californians reduce the frequency of watering their lawns. Experienced gardeners in the state can grow herbs and very different variety of plants in the same area. They also keep gadgets such as Moisture Meters in their gardens to keep track of the water in the soil. It pays to regularly maintain your sprinklers. If you miss watering young plants, they can soon die. If you don’t have young plants, watering twice or thrice a week is usually sufficient in California.
In fact home gardening is so matured activity in California, there are big flower and herb shows held annually in San Diego. Flowers of different types ranging from a cactus to coastal flowers are on display in the show. Many Californians are active members of the National Home Gardening Club. The club claims to be one of the largest of it kind in North America. The club provides detailed advice and tips on home gardening. The club also organizes contests in flower growing and publishes a magazine on the subject. Apart from this there are various other groups who one can join in California. San Francisco League of Urban Gardeners (SLUG), Bio Integrated Resource Center in Berkeley, and Oakland’s Multinational Exchange for Sustainable Agriculture are some of the few organizations involved with Home Gardening.
There are commercial nurseries too in California from where one can buy a variety of plants and trees. One can order fruit bearing trees and also specify the flavor they want in the fruits. As like any other product, special discounts are offered for advance booking of trees. Usually companies deliver to local nursery. You need to pick it up from there and plant it yourself in your garden. Companies in California charge a separate handling fee. If you don’t have time to spend on planting the trees, there are companies who can change your entire landscape and leave you with just the task of maintenance.
Proper care of your garden and wise selection of plants can help you enhance the beauty of your home.