DIY a Stay at Home Dad can do: Gardening tips

There are seasons in the life of a DIY dad that you look forward to more than others.  Fall is a fabulous season for the DIY dad because your work spent in the garden or in the yard is immediate and usually involves a saw. 

Daddy Mojo has been forbidden to own a chain saw by his wife.  In the garage there are three or four hand saws.  These hand saws are a little rusty, slightly dull and could do as much damage to the user as a chain saw, but the wife is happy.  These saws are very useful in fall for a number of fall projects in the yard.  Let’s see when they can be used and share in a tip that should’ve been learned at the beginning of spring.

Put the plant where it will be, not where it is

Gardening can make you get all Zen, can’t it?  When you’re putting something in the ground try to imagine what the plant will look like in 10-15 years.  Is it a bushy plant or a tree that will grow upwards of 40 feet?  If you put something that is designed to grow up and out, but the environment it’s in will not allow that; then you’re setting the tree up for failure.

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  Know and plant according to where the sunshine is.  This little hydrangea should be much bigger.  It’s been in the ground for two years, but is stunted.  We’ve since named it Billy Barty and are moving it to sunnier grounds this fall.

Trim gently

Crepe Myrtles can be pruned, however, most of them fall prey to Crepe Murder.   If you have to prune a tree do not make it look like a box, unless you’re trying to create topiaries for Christmas.

This is a great example of what not to do.  These Japanese Maples were planted too close to the curb, too close to one another and pruned in a square shape.  Every time we drive past this house I want to dig up one of them and give it a better life.   It may be too soon for you to prune your trees, but the best planting season is a couple weeks.  Remember these misplaced Japanese Maples when you plant your trees.

Beware the Leyland Cypress

Leyland Crypress trees are a favorite amongst real estate developers.  They’re a hearty tree that live for between 12-25 years and grow very fast in most climates. The downside to these trees is that if they are not pruned properly they will split around the 12 year of life.  The main branch of a Leyland Cypress tree splits around 6’ off the ground.  That split becomes a ‘V’, which will then split again a couple feet higher.

By this point the tree will be about 30’ tall.  If you properly trim the tree when it’s smaller you can avoid the tree splitting to its death around the 12 year and enjoy it for a full quarter century.  If you don’t trim it properly you’ll be using a pole saw in a desperate attempt to avoid the inevitable by thinning out the branches.

Purchase a no-Kink hose

It was a hot, dry summer in the U.S.   Because of that the garden as well as, some trees had to be watered at least once a week.  The hose that is used to water the plants is a longer hose, 100 feet, which is long enough to get to all of the areas in the front and back yard.

The hose is mid grade, not the most expensive one that you see at the home improvement store.  Every time that hose was used it kinked up.  After watering a plant in one corner the hose would be walked to another part of the yard and it would bend, which would cut the water flow to little more than a trickle.

Once the hose kinks up, you have to pull the entire hose to straighten it back out, or walk to where it’s bent and do it manually. The kink-free hoses cost about 50% more, but will save you many headaches down the road.

Thankfully fall is just starting.  There are lots of things that you can do to improve your garden.  These tips are just the first ones that are needing attention in the Mojo yard.