It’s never too late for planting annuals in containers.  On the other hand, tropical and subtropical plants such as palms, bromeliads, mangos and other tropical trees need to be planted early in the summer at the very latest.

To keep roots shaded and to help hold more water, allow grass to grow a little taller than normal.  This is especially important during temperatures of 90 degrees or higher.  Maintaining your garden might be the most difficult task for any gardener during dry spells.

Fruit trees need to be supported with rods to prevent them from leaning towards one side and eventually breaking.  Trees that bear heavy fruits such as apples and peaches are more susceptible to this.  This is a good time to run your sprinklers and check for any leaks.  Run the sprinklers on low and walk around your yard to make sure that all of your plants are in direct contact with the water.  If a sprinkler is making strange gurgling noises it might need to be cleaned or replaced.  If this check-up isn’t performed well, some plants might not receive the proper moisture that they need.

Early summer or late spring is also an excellent time to clear out some weeds or brush.  The spring months are California’s rainy season which can last sporadically for 3 weeks.  After about a month, your yard will be filled with new weeds and insects.  Unattended slopes are susceptible to out of control growth.  This will attract the attention of your local fire department.  So take care of weeds that can grow out of control.

For your bigger trees, you’ll want to water at least once a month with a deep treatment.  For shrubs, water more frequently and for smaller plants, daily watering might be needed.

So what are the best plants to start during the summer?

Start planting biennials.  Biennials will germinate and show roots during their first time out, but usually won’t show any color until the next year.  If you’re planning to have them bloom for the upcoming spring season, you’ll want to start planting late spring.

Most homes in Southern California are fire prone.  Careful planning needs to be a priority.  Cut your grass to about 3.5 inches in length and get rid of any dead, dried or dying trees and shrubs that are anywhere in the vicinity of your home. Saw off any overhanging dead branches and twigs and give everything else a quick trim.

June is a time when gloomy skies rule the month.  This “June Gloom” can bring on conditions such as fungus.  You’ll want to take care of this by hosing off the spores.  A trick here is to hose them off in the morning so the sun can dry them out by the afternoon.

Early summer is my favorite time to do any type of gardening.  The rain from the weeks before help clear up the air and brightens up the hills and surrounding landscapes with new colors. The ground is soft and the birds are out.  A beautiful combination that cannot be matched anywhere on this planet.

If you’re having second thoughts, here are some of the surprising rewards you get by having chickens around.

1.  Eggs – Yes, that’s an easy reason, but think about it – How much do you spend on eggs per month?  And I’m not even talking about free-range eggs, which are at least double the price!  Eggs are used for so many dishes that having them readily available can save you money and a trip to the grocery.  Now, don’t be fooled by any larger farms who claim that their eggs are FDA this, free range that or that they have years of experience.  Mother nature can provide you with the same benefits that YOU ultimately control!

2.  Chicks Who Aren’t Goldiggers – Kidding aside, chickens are pretty low maintenance animals. They don’t need daily walks or have shedding problems.  Just keep the predators away and you’ll be fine.  The only problems I personally have with them are their early morning wake-up calls.  I’m not a morning person, but they did keep me in check!

3.  Natural Ecosystem – If you haven’t noticed, chickens love to explore, pick, eat and poop.  They do this constantly.  They’ll keep insects in check while acting as a natural fertilizer at no extra costs.  Not only that, since chickens pretty much eat everything, they’ll help you clean up those plates and the extra foods that you have will never go to waste.

SOME QUICK TIPS TO GET YOU STARTED:

1.  Your First Chicken – You need to be a little picky with choosing your first chicken.  Probably the most important element is where you live.  What the weather patterns are and deciding which chicken are better suited for your environment.  With so much crossbreeding, there will be a chicken that’s perfect for you.  Here are some samples:

- Bantams, Silkies, Leghorns and Americanas.  All have their pros and cons.  Some are better egg layers; some are better in colder climates.  Whatever you choose, do your homework first and you’ll save yourself a lot of headaches.

2.  Do You Need a Coop? – The short answer is, yes.  It really doesn’t hurt to have one readily available.  I haven’t been to many places where there weren’t cats around.  Cats can cause havoc and wipe out a family pretty quick.  Fortunately, chicken coops can be built by anyone.  They’re not that difficult.  You can find more information here.  But more importantly, chickens like to lay eggs in coops.  They want privacy and that sense of protection.

3.  Basic Supplies – In the most basic form, you only need to have available water and feeder.  But if you want to keep your chickens happy, remember, a happy chicken will produce happy results; you’ll need to step it up a little.  Straw will make cleaning after your chickens easier and will give them some material to make use of like sleeping and keeping warm.

For more info on EVERYTHING you need to raise chickens, check out my resource page.

DIY Chicken Coops – If you ever considered keeping backyard chickens,  Karl Caden has come up with some  easy to follow plans. It doesn’t matter if you live in the countryside, suburbs or city.

This has everything you need to raise your own backyard chickens.

If you were planning on doing a little yard work in California, it would be wise to follow some guidelines.  California’s weather patterns and varied terrains can influence homeowner’s garden styles.  Spanish, Mediterranean and local influences are seen in many backyards.  It would be more aesthetic to have your backyard and house themes match.

Designs are usually chosen starting from the house architecture and then climate.  Even in sunny California, there are varied weather patterns.

A European, sun-drenched garden are inspired by Tuscan, Spanish or Mission architecture that often includes, red-tiled roofs and terra-cotta pots.  Bold flowers contrast well to California’s strong lighting.  More often than not, many California’s have a small water feature that draws the eyes.

If you’re looking into something that blends more into the environment consider using plants, colors and styles that grow naturally in Southern California.

Choosing the right tree may be the most important decision you’ll make.  So choose wisely.  In most cases, a tree will, not only be the focal point, but will be the lead for your garden style to follow.  They give your space character; shade and that will be a “family member” for the rest of your life.

They will hold a special place in your hearts, so getting it right from the beginning is essential.  Trees take time, and mean, a lot of time, like decades to finally mature.  Here are a couple of good choices for that will blend well within a California landscape:

Bailey Acacia:

A good Bailey will provide any gardener information for the coming spring in a dramatic fashion.  One day it will just be a boring grand tree that to fit in with the cold weather and the very next day it’ll give you the greatest of wake-up calls when it blooms with an explosion of yellow flowers.

These trees can grow up to 30 feet and spreads out equally with leaves like a fern.  It’s hardy enough to grow in a variety of climates in California.

You can use it as a background tree and have such shrubs like rosemary and lantana to give it depth.

Bailey’s are planted in areas with full access to the sun.  Dig a hole twice as wide as the plant’s ball, fill with soil and support with stakes.

During the trees infancy, you will need to water it everyday, you’ll know when you don’t have to do anything with it anymore.

If you are looking into something with more “pop”, you should consider a Crape Myrtle.  These beauties rule summer with a spectacular bloom of reds and purples.  The show might be a little too much for some people but for others, it’s just perfect.

The difference with this tree is that it provides brilliant colors in autumn also.  Not as tall, as the Bailey, you can expect to grow a Crape to about 20 feet high.

Don’t plant these trees in the spring or summer.  They love full exposure to the sun and cooler climates might be a problem in their infant years.

Don’t trust how your local supermarkets handle your veggies?  Grow your own!  Nothing tastes better than homegrown, fresh, organic veggies that you’ve cultivated since they were little “babies”.

Whether you know it or now, a good greenhouse can save your money and your health.  It’s not just about having an endless stream of bringing whole foods to your table, but it’s about a hobby that’s can bring families together.

There are a wide variety of greenhouses to choose from.  From a jar to a full-blown warehouse, there is a perfect match for you out there.  Each has a different purpose depending on your preference.  Want to do it for fun?  Go for it.  Some people live in a greenhouse.

It has been over four decades now and there have been huge advances in materials.  So you can find a greenhouse pretty much anywhere.  You can start planting your herbs and veggies weeks or months in advanced.  All you need to do is set up the right temperature, light and humidity.

No one is perfect, so you can learn from your mistakes and no one will ever notice.  Don’t limit yourself to just veggies, you can grow some good weed or beautiful flowers all year long.

Don’t worry about not having enough room; you’ll be surprised what you can do with a small area.  Garages, balconies, buckets, plastic tarps all can be used for some improvisation.

Tomatoes are so well adapted to a greenhouse environment, so an easy one that anyone can build for cheap is a hoop greenhouse.

You can build a simple hoop greenhouse by measuring a 10 by 10 foot area and take 5 rebar to each side and stake them into the ground. Get some conduit pipe and arch each pipe into each rebar so you have 5 “ribs”.

Lay a large flat piece of wire large enough to go on top of the ribs creating a tunnel like structure.

Cover your greenhouse with some greenhouse plastic; hold it down with some big rocks and presto. You have a greenhouse!

Don’t forget about the usual suspects that you need for a greenhouse. Heaters, cooling systems, watering systems, and thermometers

Start with good soil: Use a standard soil mix with 10% worm castings. This type of mix has sphagnum peat, vermiculite, and perlite in equal proportions. Adding a teaspoon of hydrated lime per gallon of soil changes the levels of Ph. This is done to prevent tomato rot.

Seeding: Put your soil mix in a garden tray with the tomato seeds planted a centimeter from the surface. Germination is best around 75 degrees, and should be sprouting in about a week. The shoots should be kept 5 inches under your grow lights for pretty much all day. When they are a couple of inches tall, transplant them to bigger trays.

Watering: You should water your plants everyday or have some sort of water drip system in place. Remember, water and lots of light is need every day.

Lighting: The best temperatures for growing your tomatoes are 70 degrees in the day and 65 degrees at night. Look into high-end lighting systems. When your plants grow up to a foot long you might want to transplant them to larger trays. After about a month and a half, your tomatoes should be ready.

Forcing flowering: Depending on your plant, flowering can take place anywhere between 2 to 3 months. For the first 14 days, you want to give your plants a bigger dosing of fertilizer.

Pollination: Ideally, you want to pollinate when the weather is humid and warm. Plants need a little shake to help with the pollen. You can take an electric toothbrush and shake the truss and branch.

Don’t forget that flowering plants need a more powerful light and constant warm temperatures. Even in cold days, the sun might make the temperatures inside a little too hot. So proper ventilation and cooling systems are needed. Besides bees, which can help with the pollination, watch out for other bugs that can ruin your crop.

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Click HERE For Hoop Greenhouse Plans

If you’re not a professional carpenter, don’t worry. You only need some simple skills. Here’s what you need.

Hacksaw – for cutting pvc
Rubber Mallet – for hammering in stakes and pvc pipes
Cutter – for cutting plastic
Measuring Tape

1/2-inch pvc pipes
3/4-inch pvc pipes
3/4-pvc tee connectors and cross connectors
Greenhouse Plastic

Your greenhouse needs to be located where the most sunlight is. Take note at where the shadows in your backyard are as the sun rises and sets, especially during the winter. Your greenhouse should be relatively near water and electrical sources. While not as important as the sunlight factor, being near these sources will save you a lot of work.

The location should also be fairly flat but with good drainage. Don’t place your greenhouse in the middle where water stagnates or flows through.

The size of your greenhouse is dependent on the size of your space and how many plants you want to care for. Most people who build a greenhouse quickly find out they usually need more room. I take the opposite approach and would suggest that you start with a smaller size. It will give you the experience and confidence if you want to later pursue a more complicated greenhouse.

1. Clear and level the location for your greenhouse. Depending how large you want your greenhouse to be, to make sure that the sides are parallel, take a measuring tape and measure diagonally. Both distances should be equal.

2. Mallet the stakes into the ground every 2-3 feet along opposing sides. Try to drive them in as vertically straight as possible.

3. Separate the hoops first and then connect the spine next. Each of the two end hoops is made with the 3/4 -inch pvc that is connected with a pvc tee. Use your mallet to hammer the pvc’s together snug.

4. The two ends now fit over your grounded pvc stakes. Connect the spine next using more of the 3/4-inch pvc.

5. Throw over your greenhouse plastic. You can use various clips or just have some giant cinder blocks hold the sides down. Some people like placing a wire mesh on top before adding on the plastic for added support. It’s all up to you.

6. If you want to have “doors” on each end of your hoop greenhouse, get some additional plastic that’s large enough to cover one opening with at least half a foot of extra plastic on the ground. Get some poly pipe clips to fasten this plastic and cut a slit down the middle and presto, you have a door.

There you have it, your first greenhouse. That wasn’t bad was it? Of course, you can take it to the next level, but this is all about cost-effective simplicity.

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BENCHES provide not only the extra spacing you need to work in, but they can prevent you from bending over too much. It’s a good idea to look for a ventilated shelving system that provides good water draining and air circulation.

LIGHTS, more specifically, grow lights, are needed to provide your plants up to 24 hours a day of photosynthesis. Now what’s the point of a greenhouse if you don’t have the option of growing seasonal veggies in the winter? Look into the newest designs of fluorescent lights, which have been recently catching up to the popular HID lights.

SHADE CLOTH is usually made from a UV protected polyethylene and helps with heating and condensation. They all could be cut to custom fit your greenhouse.

MIN/MAX THERMOMETERS records the highs and lows for both inside and outside temps. But what’s important about these thermometers is it will provide you with valuable information on how temperature fluctuates in a given day. This alone will tell you if you need additional cooling or heating elements in your greenhouse, which can help you with your budget.

VENTILATION can be both simple or complicated depending on your situation. But nonetheless, it’s one of the most important factors of a greenhouse. Proper ventilation brings in fresh carbon dioxide and helps with cooling a greenhouse. Now if you’re greenhouse is located where there is good airflow, a couple of strategically cut holes is all you might need. If not, you might need an exhaust fan with some intake shutters.

WATERING SYSTEMS have a few different services, mainly to help with plant growth, cooling and humidity. Depending on what kind of greenhouse you want, you usually want to keep the humidity hovering around 60%.

For a little more complicated greenhouses, you might want to invest in these:

THERMOSTATS will help your greenhouse when you’re gone. If you want to maintain a worry free temperature in your greenhouse, place a thermostat right in the middle of your greenhouse. You would want to have both a heating and cooling thermostat close together and if possible, away from the sunlight.

HEATERS are important if you’re located in cold climates. Even though heat comes from sunlight and trapped in a greenhouse during the day, it might not be enough. From electric heaters to gas heaters, your choices are plenty.

EVAPORATIVE AIR COOLERS are the best cooling systems out there for a greenhouse and usually come with a built in thermostat. Water flows over cooling pads, which lowers the temperature of flowing air. Another helpful feature is that these coolers help filter bugs and dirt.

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Here is a quick basic rundown:

Fluorescent are designed for the beginner or smaller greenhouse owner in mind. Most of you reading this will probably only need fluorescent bulbs. On the opposite side of the spectrum, commercial lights are made to withstand tough conditions for larger spaces.

Mini-lights are systems in which the ballast and reflector are in the same housing. These are smaller and use up less energy. They’re good for their ease of use and for beginners.

HID lights or High Intensity Discharge lights offers a more intense direct light. If you want to invest in the best, this is the way to go.

If you’re looking into really taking care of your plants and a little more money and elbow grease isn’t a problem. Look into Ballast that you can easily change. It has been shown that plants that grow under a metal halide light in earlier stages and then exposed to light with high-pressure sodium later grow healthier.

Do I really need to use a garden light for my greenhouse?

Yes, if you want a healthier garden. For example, different plants need different light intensities. If for example you have a taller plant next to a shorter one. You will need a higher power lamp to reach the lower sections of the taller plant.

So what’s better? HID or Fluorescent?

Usually fluorescent lights were used for early growing and plants that needed only low lighting and HID was used for plants requiring a brighter light. Today, fluorescent lights are more technologically advance and have more options that can equal the more expensive HID set up.

What’s a typical energy bill for my greenhouse lights?

Depending on the size of your greenhouse, your electricity bill for your greenhouse lighting only will range anywhere from $5 to $25 a month.

How often do I need to change my lights?

Manufacturers usually say that their lights last from around 15,000 to 20,000 hours. But if you’re using lights for growing, you should change your lights every 10,000 hours.

How far should my lights be?

Most lights can be located anywhere from 7 to 40 inches away from the top of a plant. It really depends on your plant and light. Many gardeners like to hit their plants hard with a higher intensity thus leading into faster growth.

Do I need a light timer?

A light timer is a good investment. A lot of people underestimate the times they forget to turn on their lighting.

Any other tips?

Yea, look into lights that are quiet. HID lights are notorious for producing an annoying buzz. And I know you’re trying to save money, but lights will probably be one of your bigger investments on a greenhouse. So don’t just purchase the cheapest set of lights out there.

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Herbs or Flowers?

A tropical escape or a mini-herb garden? You should have at least an idea of what you’re looking for in a greenhouse. Size and location will matter. If you’re backyard is big enough you can construct a freestanding type. Your greenhouse design weighs heavily on your location. Some locations will be exposed to bitter winters or Indian Summers.

What Can You Expect?

A couple of days, a few basic tools and the ability to get a little dirty. You’ll be lifting 2 x 4′s and PVC pipes. At a minimum you’ll need a rubber mallet, Plastic Sheets, PVC pipes, a small saw, some nails and screwdrivers.

What Do You Suggest?

Generally, I would advise clients to start with a Hoop Greenhouse or a Smaller Freestanding Kit. Hoop Greenhouses are so much cheaper and, though, not as aesthetically pleasing, will get the job done. A Freestanding kit is a little bigger of a job but will give you that classic look you’re probably looking for. Whatever you start with, I would suggest starting with a smaller greenhouse, nothing bigger than 10 feet across.

How About Lights and Irrigation?

Don’t even think about your accessories. Yes, you heard me. Focus on putting one up first. People make the mistake of focusing on the “bells and whistles”, which will cause more confusion. I mean, do you really want me to talk about HID, Halide or Fluorescent lights right now?

Ok..Ok..So How Do I Start?

It’s a little out of the scope of this article to provide you with step-by-step, simple plans. Click Below For More Info.

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