The Basics of Pruning:

Why prune?

• get rid of dead and damaged parts
• direct the growth of the branches (plant)
• encourage new growth
• fix some growth problems such as weakness
• prevent future problems, such as disease from lack of air circulation, damage from crossing branches,etc

What tools?

1. pruning shears for smaller branches
2. loppers for larger sizes
3. a pruning handsaw for the largest branches

Get the best quality shears and loppers you can afford. Handsaws, such as a Japanese handsaw, are perfectly fine if of average quality.

If using a lopper for a fairly good size branch, position the end of one handle on your shoulder and use both hands to exert pressure from the other handle. If this isn’t enough to do the job, it is time to grab the saw- even if the diameter didn’t seem to merit it.

Another tool often spoken of by English gardeners and professional nurserymen is the pruning knife. I think this is one tool I haven’t used that I would greatly appreciate. There are times I just grub off excess twigs, but I think a pruning knife would work well in many situations. Sometimes the pruners just don’t make as clean a cut on the more flexible branches.

When pruning large branches make sure you do the undercut first. That is the cut underneath the branch, so that as you saw through and get to where the weight of the branch might pull it down, it will not strip off the bark as it breaks away.

A saw cuts with the pull.

Prune out inside branches, especially those that cross.
Prune damaged branches and too strong growth that sprouts straight upward.
Prune older branches on the inside of shrubs, to help give the newer growth a boost.
Prune shrubs after they bloom.

The Ten Best Articles on Pruning

1. How to Prune Trees USDA article.
2. OSU Fruit Pruning Guide
3. Pruning Shrubs, an overview.
4. PDF file illustrating 9 pruning methods; also lists many shrubs and the method recommended.
5. Pruning Heritage Roses
6. Pruning the Three Types of Clematis
7. Master Gardener’s Guide
8. Calender Chart for Shrubs
9. Quick Pruning Tips- Printable
10. Arborday Animated Tutorial

A different design-

A small vegetable patch is one of the first gardens I made when I was a twenty-something. I hadn’t really gardened on my own, but I knew what a delicious treat a fresh homegrown tomato was… I had enjoyed them from my mother’s garden. And my mother’s vegetable gardens never changed very much from what is essentially an easy starter vegetable garden. So this little guide might serve you for your career as a gardener, or it might be a jump off point for a love affair with your own kitchen garden. It will provide some fresh produce for your dining table.

What does this starter vegetable garden look like?

It is small. This is the number one piece of advice beginning gardeners will always get, and it as often gets ignored. Still, small is not less, so try to keep your first vegetable garden a size that is easy to take care of. I think my first vegetable patch was four feet by five feet in the city backyard, next to the walkway back to the garage. It was in the sunshine, not shadowed by my house or the neighbor’s buildings or any trees.

My patch was a simple rectangle shape, easy to access for weeding and harvesting. As your interest and needs grow, you can always add more rectangles. Some people start out with raised beds, although I didn’t. The benefit of a raised bed is the good drainage, and the good soil it can provide for you, as you add amendments in a concentrated way. Less compaction because rarely does anyone walk inside their raised beds.

What vegetables should I grow?

Of course you can try any that you like, but I would encourage a new gardener to plant things that are easy to succeed with and give a good quality crop. The main motivation for growing food is to have something good to eat!

ripening on the sill

Bush beans: although you can usually buy them fresh in the markets they are easy to grow and you might like some right outside your back door. Need warm weather to germinate and grow.

Peppers: sweet or hot, they don’t take much space and produce prolifically. Every starter garden should have a few pepper plants. They are easy to grow and take similar conditions to tomatoes (fertile soil, regular but not too much moisture.)

Green Leafy things: Grow spinach. It is good for you and very easy- it also grows in cooler weather. Leaf lettuces are easy, and mesclun mixes are too. Gourmet salads are in your future if you plant these. They need cooler temperatures. Swiss Chard- try this, it is something like spinach, is easy to grow, lasts better through hotter weather. Wonderful addition to quiche.

Radishes: radishes are just the simplest plant you can grow- they come up quickly and taste delicious in the cooler weather they love.

Green onions: early crop that is sown in spring for all sorts of uses; salads, eggs, and baked potatoes all are better for a bit of green onion! AKA “scallions”.

A row of herbs and a row of marigolds: because the herbs taste good and help your veggies taste better, and marigolds for repelling insects, but mainly because they look pretty. Easy herbs ( and VERY easy if you buy plants rather than seed) are Parsley, Savory, Chives, and Basil. Or should I say Basils, plural, because there are so many types- all good.

The starter garden how-to

I know what you are thinking- long list of vegetables and small spaces- how does all that cram into a tiny plot? A starter garden has tricks to accomplish all that. One is called “vertical” gardening, and one is interplanting. Make sure you stake the tomatoes, or tie them to a fence ( should your neighboring yard and yours have one). Tomatoes take the most space in this little garden.

Then, if you notice that some plants grow early in the season and don’t like warm weather, you can well imagine that you have harvested them by the time you plant the tomatoes and peppers. Swiss Chard and parsley like the shade that a tomato plant can provide them. Radishes are grown in among the lettuces- and are usually harvested before they are, but both grow happily together. Green onions are also harvested early, leaving spaces for beans or peppers. So you can see there are early and later crops grown out of the same space of ground.

Plantings of herbs and marigolds are around the edges of the garden or you can have them take the place of some of the early vegetables. Or here is an idea, place a couple big pots and seed them with marigolds and herb plants. Containers do take extra care to water, but have the advantage that you can move them wherever you want.

Things Missing

You can grow whatever you want, you don’t need my suggestions to try them, but more can go awry with carrots, and corn takes a large amount of space, as do pumpkins. And zucchini is the butt of many a joke for its huge harvests…

If you love zucchini or squash, think about vertical methods. If you have never tried growing a garden, I hope you attempt this little starter vegetable garden or the easy herb garden. I believe you will be successful and you might find out how much fun it is to grow things to eat.