Essential Summer Gardening Jobs: A Checklist

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Essential Summer Gardening Jobs: A Checklist

After planting your garden in the spring, it needs some attention through the summer to keep it at its best. The following essential summer gardening jobs help you grow beautiful, healthy plants and reap a plentiful harvest.

Cover Bare Soil with Mulch

Spread 2-3” of mulch such as straw, bark chips, or shredded wood across the soil surface, keeping it from directly touching the plants’ stems.

Mulching the exposed soil surface helps retain soil moisture, lower soil temperature, reduce weed seeds’ germination, and keep low-hanging fruits and vegetables from getting dirty. Over time the mulch slowly breaks down, adding organic material and nutrients to the soil.

Water Deeply but Less Often

The best way to water your garden is to give it a more significant amount of water less often instead of watering it a little bit every day. Watering infrequently but deeply helps build a robust root system that grows deeper into the ground, increasing drought tolerance. The exact timing depends on the plants you grow, the soil type, and your climate.

Give Your Plants Some Food

Over time, your flowers, shrubs, and vegetables pull nutrients from the soil, depleting the soil’s “reserves.” To grow vigorous, healthy plants, you need to add nutrients back through fertilizers periodically. Choose a product suited to the type of plants you are growing, and always follow the label instructions carefully.

Deadhead Spent Flowers

Deadheading is the process of removing dead flowers after a plant has bloomed. Removing the spent blossoms encourages new buds to develop on your plants and promotes new plant growth. Once flowers have faded, cut them off with sterilized gardening shears or pinch them off to the uppermost leaves using your fingernails.

Scout for Pests

Continuously be on the lookout for problematic insect pests, rodents, snails, slugs, and any other intruders that may damage your plants. When problems are noticed, treat them immediately. It’s easier to handle situations when they first appear, and damage may be minimal, then after it becomes a big problem.

Divide Spring-Flowering Plants and Bulbs

Over time, flower bulbs and other clumping perennials can become overcrowded and produce smaller flowers. The best way to remedy this is to dig them up, divide or thin the bulbs, and then replant them.

After the blooms have faded for the summer but the foliage hasn’t died, loosen the soil around the bulbs or plant with a garden spade or shovel. Using your hands, gently dig the plant out of the ground and brush off excess dirt. Divide the large mass into smaller clumps or individual bulbs and replant them into the flowerbed, giving them more space for the next season.

Harvest Ripe Vegetables

When your vegetable plants are getting close to mature, check them every day or two and pick veggies as soon as they are ripe. Veggies can quickly go from being almost ready to overripe in a short time, and picking often encourages some plants to produce more. For the best flavor and texture, harvest after the dew dries off of plants in the morning. They will be at their juiciest and sweetest early in the day.

Check Your Drip Irrigation System

Every couple of weeks, walk around your garden when the sprinkler system is running to check for leaks or clogged emitters. Fix any problems you see to ensure your plants get the water they need.

Clean Up Dead Plants and Foliage

Remove any debris, dead or dying plants, and dropped foliage from the garden and flower beds. Materials on the soil surface can harbor harmful insect pests and encourage fungal growth. Any plants killed by diseases can transmit problems to neighboring plants or the soil.

Summertime doesn’t have to be filled with garden chores, but these nine essential jobs are worth the time and effort to keep your garden growing beautifully and healthy.

7 Essential Summer Lawn Care Tasks

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7 Essential Summer Lawn Care Tasks

Keeping your lawn thick and green all summer means completing essential lawn care tasks beyond mowing and watering. Even if your yard looks good, it doesn’t mean you can neglect it or that the grass doesn’t need any attention.

The following seven essential summer lawn care tasks are crucial for maintaining a yard worthy of backyard barbecues and social get-togethers.

Mow Your Grass a Bit Higher

During the heat of summer, keep your grass a little taller, and only remove ⅓ of the height every time you mow. Taller grass shades the soil, improving moisture retention, and promotes a deeper root system, making it more drought-tolerant.

Water Deeply but Less Often

On average, your grass needs 1 to 1.5” of water every week. To build a robust, deep root system, space out waterings as far as possible, applying larger amounts less frequently. The exact amount of water and the timing depends on your soil type and climate.

Treat for Lawn Grubs

When left untreated, grubs can cause severe damage to your grass, creating irregular dead patches across the lawn as they feed on the roots just below the soil surface.

To prevent grub activity, apply a grub preventer containing imidacloprid, thiamethoxam, or clothianidin in early summer. Preventers work on eggs and young larvae, so they need to be applied just before or when the eggs hatch.

If you know you have grubs already, you can apply grub killer at any time. These products contain active ingredients that kill grubs in all life stages.

Get Rid of Pesky Weeds

Even if you applied a pre-emergent herbicide in early spring, you might still see weeds pop up in the grass. It’s best to control them quickly so they don’t spread and worsen the problem.

Apply a post-emergent herbicide formulated to kill only the weeds and not the grass. This type of product typically targets broadleaf and non-grassy weeds, killing them down to the root.

You can also pull weeds by hand. Use a flathead screwdriver or a weed tool to remove all the plant, including the roots.

Keep the Mower Blades Sharp

Regularly sharpen your lawnmower blades, keeping them free of gouges or nicks. Dull or chipped blades don’t shear the grass blades cleanly and tear the tops off instead. Tearing causes undue stress inside the blades, allowing water to evaporate quicker through the torn edge.

Practice Grasscycling

Grasscycling is when you leave short grass clippings behind when you mow instead of bagging them up and disposing of them. First off, leaving them on the lawn saves time and labor, but it is also beneficial for the grass.

Grass clippings contain about 4% nitrogen and 2% potassium. When mulched, they decompose rapidly, returning these essential nutrients to the soil, improving root growth, and keeping the grass thick.

Feed Warm-Season Grasses

If you have warm-season grass, it needs a dose of fertilizer in the summer because it puts on the most growth when it’s hot. Opt for a slow-release fertilizer that works over one to three months to minimize the risk of fertilizer burn. You should also choose a low-nitrogen formulation to reduce stress on the lawn.

Keeping your lawn looking good through the summer doesn’t need to be a full-time job, but some tasks are essential—mow the grass a bit higher, keep it free of weeds and pests, and provide water and small doses of nutrients.

Pollen Allergy Summary – Content Creation

Pollen Allergy Summary – Content Creation

Request for Proposal

V.0.3.1-20220408

 

Writing Guide: https://article.picturethisai.com/writing-guide/ 

What’s this content for

You are selected to create plants’ brief profiles on pollen allergies. A list of plants will be provided and you are supposed to tell the readers how likely are their pollen to cause allergies, what degree of allergy they may cause, and the seasons that may trigger pollen allergies.

Our content will be shown in the app like this:

Basic information will be given in advance, so we should try our best to provide information that cannot be represented above.

Allergenicity, peak season and allergen code of these species will be given as referential fields, please try to keep your content consistent with these values.

Requirements

1.     Word Count: around 30 words. It is OK to go a bit longer if there are plenty of details.

2.    Focus: in these pieces of profiles, please make sure the contents are focused on the pollen allergy only.
       Don’ts: Information like distribution, taxonomy, identification, etc. will be displayed in other written sections with more details. So no need to mention these.
       Do not mention the regions it affects. We will show it on a map.
The allergen code of these plants will show in another section too, so please do not mention that.
       Don’t mention therapy and prevention in this section. These pieces of information will be discussed in a general article.

3.    Information Covered:

  • [Mandatory] How likely is it to cause an allergy;
    Try to be consistent with the referential fields we provided. But if you can find different ratings in more than one referential link, please tell us in the comment box.
  • [Mandatory] The typical allergy-triggering season and peak season;
    Note: the “peak season” we provided in the referential field may be incorrect. Instead, it could be the whole allergy season. If you can find a reliable peak season different from the referential, please tell us in the comment box too. (Just the season is enough for us, like “Summer” or so.)
  • [Optional] Typical environment it affects. Downtown, parks, urban green space, suburban open space, or agricultural fields.
  • [Optional] Other notable information on its triggering allergy, like weather, any specific ingredient that caused the allergy (if there is), etc.

4.     Consistency: If you find there’s any problem with the data given, please write based on what you find and simply state the problems (with referential links supported) in the comment box.

 

 

E.g.  t73 (Allergen Code) =>t5 (https://www….)

 

5.     Avoid Simple Listing: Do not simply list More than 3 seasons, countries, regions, or so. Try to generalize in some ways, or just list the 3 most important ones. 

6.     Reference: List all the links you have referenced.

Special attention
  • Scientifically speaking, salix and poplar fluffs are not pollens, but in this section, we write them in the same way as pollens.
Useful Resources
Example

Alfalfa (Medicago sativa)
allergenicity moderate, peak season spring to fall, code w45
[36 words, a great example by Natalie Martin (with minor modification)]

Producing pollen from spring through fall, Alfalfa is a moderate allergen found primarily in agricultural fields and other open spaces. Cutting the plant while it is blooming will be more likely to trigger an allergic reaction.

New-Garden Use – Content Creation

New-Garden Use

Garden Use – Content Creation

V.1.0-20220408

Writing Guide: https://article.picturethisai.com/writing-guide/ 

 

Error Cases : https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/18SXI83axsmfIx_o_YNO1DQnnq0CTxgV8eVxw3SGqZuc/edit#gid=0

 

What’s This Content for

In this section, we will tell the readers why and how the garden plants are used. A list of garden plants will be given and you are selected to explain briefly why they are considered to be ornamental and how people often use them in their gardens.

We hope these creative contents are simple, focused, and specific. Highlighting characteristic traits of these plants.

Requirements

1.    Word Count: around 50 words.
If the plant is very popular or versatile, it is OK to go slightly longer for this section. While if it is rarely used, a bit shorter is acceptable (but still please more than 30 words).

2.    Focus on the Field: please focus on gardening and landscaping. Do not mention any related or unrelated information, which will appear in other sections.

  • General information, like original distribution, environments favored, hardiness zone, care tips, etc. are NOT supposed to be discussed in this section.
  • Houseplant use is often considered a branch of garden use, but in our system, the utility in gardens and houses are operated separately. There’s another parallel section that will discuss the plant’s usage as a houseplant. It is OK to mention it could be planted indoors, but further discussion is NOT suggested.
  • If you can not find any literal “garden use” of the plant, please leave the box blank and tell us in the comments. Then we will revise our name list timely. In this case, remember to check the “No reliable source found” option.

3.    Accurate Level: there’re species, variates, cultivars, and breeds in our plant list, please introduce the plants at an accurate level. 

  • When talking about a cultivar, do not mention other cultivars under the same species.
  • when talking about one species, the introduction of important cultivars is encouraged. But do not let one breed dominate the whole content (unless it is the only popular breed used in the garden).

4.    Information Covered: contents are supposed to cover two related aspects: (1) why they are used in gardens and (2) the most popular ways that they are used in gardens. (Both aspects are mandatory, but which points you selected to write are optional.)

         4.1     Why– the advantages of the plants:

  • The showy appearance
  • The interesting seasons
  • The adaptability to the garden

         4.2    How– their common use in gardens:

  • The role they often played in garden landscaping (as specimen trees, edgings, ground covers, etc.)
  • Often used in witch style of gardens (rock gardens, Japanese gardens, cottage gardens, etc.).
  • Common ways they planted (under large trees, beside brick walkways, potted, cut flowers, etc.)
  • Other utilities (deer resist, wind-breaking, etc.)

5.    Avoid Simple Listing: Try to describe in a general way, do not simply list more than 3 usages, locations, or anything like that. 

6.    Reference: List all the links you have referenced. (Indeed, when describing some commonly used garden plants, you may not need to refer to more information, but in order to facilitate the reviewers’ work, please be sure to attach at least one referral link for each species.)

Special Attention
  • Don’t forget that succulents and cacti also thrive outdoors. They are the representative plants in rock gardens.
  • Some plants do well when potted outdoors, do not forget to mention that.
Examples

Carnation (Dianthus caryophyllus) [71 words]

Carnation’s blooming season lasts nearly the whole summer, producing fragrant flowers with fluffy double petals. Depending on the breeds, carnations come from an array of different colors, heights, and branching habits. You can always find a proper breed to fit all your needs in the garden, from a specimen flower in your rock garden to an edging flower. It adapts well for potting and is wildly used as a cut flower too.

Bermuda grass (Cynodon dactylon) [68 words, great example created by David Hinchliffe]

Bermuda grass is one of the world’s most popular lawn grasses, especially in hot climates, due to its ability to withstand drought and aridity. It copes less well in the cold, but it makes a tough turf that is particularly good for domestic lawns because of its resilience and ability to recover quickly after heavy use. It is perfectly suited for sites with full sun and good drainage.

What is Hay Fever and How Can You Treat it at Home?

What is Hay Fever and How Can You Treat it at Home?

Often known as seasonal allergies, hay fever is a problem that bothers millions of people each year. The good news is that with an understanding of what hay fever is and some of the common preventions and treatments, you can diminish the annoyance that it brings.

What is Hay Fever?

Hay fever is not like a typical fever as most people think of it. Instead, hay fever is a bothersome allergic reaction that can cause a whole host of cold-like symptoms.

Anyone unfortunate enough to have hay fever will likely experience discomforts like sneezing, sinus congestion, and eye irritation.

At times, those with hay fever can also feel significant fatigue, which may make daily life more of a challenge than you might expect.

What Causes Hay Fever?

Hay fever occurs when someone with allergies comes in contact with an allergen such as pollen, dust, fungus, or mold.

Typically, these allergens are more present during certain times of the year, when they enter the air via the wind.

Often, spring is a season in which many trees give off pollen that can cause hay fever. However, summer often brings grass pollen, and fall comes with weed pollen, both of which can cause the same issue.

Other sources like pet dander, mites, and fungi spores also present a problem for many who suffer from allergies.

These common causes of hay fever are the main ways that this issue is different from a regular fever.

While a standard fever, which is often associated with a raised body temperature, comes from a virus and can affect people whether or not they have allergies, hay fever is nothing more than an allergic reaction to airborne allergens.

Most people won’t come down with hay fever, as the allergens that cause it are not inherently harmful. However, if you have allergies, your body will treat pollen and other particles as a threat to your health. In response, your immune system will react by attacking the allergens you’re breathing in, which causes the cold-like symptoms previously mentioned.

Hay Fever Prevention and Treatment

If you struggle with hay fever each year, you’ll be happy to know that there are some preventative measures you can take.

The most obvious form of prevention is to avoid the sources of your allergens, whether that be flowers, trees, or other plants.

It can also help to close the doors and windows of your home during the seasons when hay fever most severely affects you.

You’ll also want to keep your home clean by vacuuming rugs and carpets, and washing your clothes and linens as often as you can.

Cleanliness helps reduce the number of allergens in your home that may cause your hay fever symptoms to begin.

It can also help to wear glasses that cover your eyes when you go outdoors, which prevents pollen and other substances from touching your eyes.

In some cases, lining your nostrils with petroleum jelly will help stop allergens from entering your lungs.

However, many people may need to find a more effective treatment for their hay fever complications.

If your hay fever symptoms persist in spite of those home remedies, you should contact your doctor.

In many instances, your physician may prescribe a nasal spray that can help prevent and treat hay fever symptoms. Decongestants and antihistamines can also help reduce the discomfort that comes with hay fever.

You should also know that while many people suffer from hay fever, some are more prone to it than others.

Those with asthma or those with a history of allergies in their family are more likely to get hay fever each year.

However, if you understand the causes and seek the right medical care, you can help ensure that your hay fever does not have a significant impact on your wellbeing.

The best time to see a doctor is if you notice that none of your home remedies seem to be working to curb your symptoms or if you have a preexisting condition that makes hay fever more likely.

In those cases, an allergen test will give a clear idea of what causes your hay fever and how to best overcome it.

Best secrets of attracting birds to your garden

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Attracting Birds to Your Garden

Simple strategies to creating a birding garden that supports native wildlife and creates a peaceful oasis in a busy world.

Have you glimpsed the fancy flash of a hummingbird and then stopped to watch? Spotting a bird in their natural environment gives a sense of wonder.

Some people love this feeling so much they travel far and wide to make the spot, but this doesn’t have to be the case. Creating a birding garden is a wonderful way to attract a host of feathered species right to your backyard. This book, will give you some handy tips on how to use natural plants and simple devices to create a garden that attracts birds.

A hummingbird feeding from purple foxglove flowers

Benefits of a birding garden

The sweet sound of birdsong is a soothing way to find peace in a busy world, and birding is a simple way to bring much-needed stress relief into hectic lives. And what’s more, it’s good for the ecosystem and the environment. A bird-friendly garden helps support wildlife and in turn, since these birds control bugs and pests, pollinate fruits and flowers.

A European robin with a beak full of grubs

There’s more good news because a bird-friendly garden doesn’t need chemicals or pesticides to grow healthy plants. With careful planting you can encourage feathered visitors that dine on ants, aphids, beetles, and caterpillars; with one stroke supporting bird numbers and doing away with chemical products, which is good for the environment our health in so many ways.

Red-faced male goldfinch on sunflowers

Planting a bird-friendly garden

To create a successful birding garden means giving the birds what they want. For example, a finch-friendly destination offers seed-bearing plants such as asters, coneflowers, and sunflowers. But, in all but the smallest yards, think in broad strokes with a wide range of planting to attract a variety of birds from migrating sandpipers to grub-loving woodpeckers.

From this book, you can choose plants that are perfectly adapted to the climate and soil type, and exist in harmony with the indigenous insects. Remember, these bugs are also a source of food for birds, which means getting double the value from the plants. Plus, these insects and birds pollinate the flowers, for a rich display of blossoms, blooms, and fruits.

A male eastern bluebird perched with an insect in its mouth

Create a multi-layered display using plants of different heights and a spread of seeding times – but don’t be over-hasty with the dead-heading (birds love the seeds). Consider making space for ornamental grasses, fruiting shrubs, vines, and indeed trees to offer birds a source of food, shelter, and nesting materials. Fortunately, there are a wealth of suitable plant species to choose from to create a birding garden to keep everyone happy.

Sparrows sitting on a wooden garden fence

The perfect garden for birds

Important as food is, there’s more to life than just eating. The best birding gardens are attractive to feathered visitors because they can rest, bathe, and feel safe from predators there, and maybe even stop to raise their young. The most basic factor is that the birds feel safe when surveying the area.

Redstart on the birdhouse

The choice of planting helps with this, by providing vines for small species to flit in and out of, and trees on which to perch away from the local cat. The spacing of plantings is also important, both for the plants to flourish and the birds to see what’s going on around them.

This book will offer you not just a plant list but also some simple, super useful advice to make your garden attractive to these feathered visitors in a snap. Pick some of your favorite plants from this list, follow these suggestions, and it’s not difficult at all to attract them.

Let’s plant a bird garden

The choice of planting encourages birds to visit, but at those times of the year when natural food is scarce then bird feeders are invaluable. Offering the right seeds helps birds survive and encourages them to stay. Most species do best with types of feeders that allow them to perch in a natural position. To draw a diverse range of birds to the garden provide a range of hopper, tray, and tube feeders.

And when those birds have discovered your birding garden, encourage them to stay and raise the next generation by putting up nesting boxes.

House sparrow perched on a garden bird feeder

Lastly, an often overlooked but vital resource is water. A simple, shallow birdbath provides life-saving drinking water at the height of summer or depths of winter and allows birds to bathe and keep plumage in tip-top condition.

Create a birding garden as a one-stop spot that meets all a bird’s needs, and in return, you’ll have a lively display of visitors all year round.

A hermit thrush gorges on Toyon berries

A little know-how

And the great thing is garden birding doesn’t have to be expensive. Why not improvise a birdbath or make your own birdhouse?

Benefit the local ecosystem by planting native species, which encourages native wildlife, and let the birds control pests without the need for insecticides. Simply decide which birds you’d most like to see and then plant to attract them.

And to make the garden irresistible, just use birdfeeders to supplement their diet, a birdbath for water, and birdhouses to raise chicks on site. With just a little know-how, the pay-off is a vibrant garden for the birds and a place of peace and mindfulness for you.

Tips to Prepare Birdbaths and Birdhouses

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Tips to Prepare Birdbaths and Birdhouses

Birdbaths and birdhouses encourage wild birds to visit all year round, creating a birding garden.

An attractive birding garden isn’t just about food; because birdbaths and birdhouses encourage wild birds to visit all year round.

Robin on a bird bath

Birdbath benefits

A birdbath gives feathered visitors a place to bathe and drink. Bathing loosens dust and parasites from their feathers, which makes preening easier and keeps plumage in tip-top condition.

Bluebird bathing with joy

A birdbath provides valuable drinking water when the ground is frozen or parched dry. Just be sure to keep the bath clean by removing fallen leaves, change the water regularly, and scrub the sides free from algae (but take care any chemical cleaners are non-toxic to birds.

Male house sparrow, perched by the side of a bird bath drinking water

Choosing a birdbath

Most birds like a wide, shallow bath, placed about a foot above the ground (rather than on a tall pedestal). Moving water, such as a small fountain, attracts more birds and helps prevent the water from freezing in chilly weather. When making a choice, keep ease of cleaning in mind.

Sparrows playing and washing in a bird bath

Locating a birdbath

Birds visit a birdbath to cool off so choose a shady spot, but somewhere they have a good view of what’s going on around them. Birds enjoy having perches nearby, on which to sun themselves after a bath. Putting the birdbath near a hosepipe makes topping up the water and cleaning much easier.

A male Blackbird enjoying a wash in a bird bath

Birdhouses for them

Just as finches prefer nyjer seeds to sunflowers, so different bird species have preferred nesting places and houses. This gives the keen birder the opportunity to attract a favorite bird with their dream birdhouse.

A wren peeking out of a birdhouse

Broadly speaking, there are three types of birdhouses: the nesting box, colony house, and platform.

The nesting box

These are cozy wooden cubes, often with a pitched roof, and a bird-sized entrance hole. The size of the entrance is important, especially for tiny birds such as wrens, since a small hole keeps out larger, more aggressive species. Nesting boxes are ideal birds such as the bluebird, chickadee, finches, flycatcher, nuthatches, owls, woodpeckers, and wrens.

A couple of tree swallows in a nesting box

The platform birdhouse

Some yard stalwarts such as the cardinal, robin, and dove are platform nesters, along with blue jays, barn swallows, and phoebes. Their ideal home is a platform floor with a lip around it, so think shelf or ledge. These are best attached under the eaves or in an open porch to create cover from the elements.

White pigeon eggs lay on the nest

The Colony Birdhouse

A dovecote is the classic example of a colony birdhouse, favored by birds that love to live in groups or flocks. Think multi-story living with individual apartments. Alternatively, make a simple colony house by stringing up gourds. These attractive birdhouses make an eye-catching feature in any yard for purple martins, doves, weaverbirds, and some blackbirds.

Dovecote and pigeons live in a colony birdhouse

Where to Put a Birdhouse

Key to finding the right location for a birdhouse is to understand the habits of the birds you wish to attract.

For example, a wren, chickadee, and tree swallows prefer a birdhouse attached to a tree or wall, around three to ten feet (0.9-3.0 meters) above the ground. Chickadees appreciate a covering of greenery, whilst the bluebird prefers a sunny spot, four to six feet (1.2-1.8 meters) from the ground.

Bluebird perched on wood bird house

To attract a lively colony of purple martins, choose a spot at least 40 feet (12.2 meters) away from trees or buildings. These birds like to be up high, around 10-15 feet (3.0-4.6 meters) from the ground. However, avoid attaching the house to a tree branch as this makes it vulnerable to visiting cats.

Red birdhouse hanging on a branch

As for platform nesters, such as robins or phoebes, a ledge with a view is the order of the day. Site the platform beneath the eaves, out of the prevailing wind, to provide a snug nesting spot too cozy to resist.

A nest for swallows under the eaves

Tips for Building a Birdhouse

Building a great birdhouse isn’t hard with these tips.

1. Construct the box from hardy timbers, such as redwood or cedar. Ensure the walls are at least ¾ inch thick to prevent heat buildup in the summer.

2. Keep the air fresh but avoid letting in the weather by placing half-inch diameter ventilation holes beneath the roof overhang.

3. Avoid painting the birdhouse (birds prefer the natural look), but especially avoid dark colors as these intensify summer heat.

Building wooden birdhouse

4. Research the species you wish to attract, to find out the ideal size of the entrance hole.

5. Also, don’t add a perch as these make it easier for predators to raid the nest, and consider mounting a short tube (or predator guard) in front of the entrance for added home security.

Birdhouse with a predator guard

Tips to Prepare Bird Food That Attracts Birds

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Tips to Prepare Bird Food That Attracts Birds

Birds need to consume high amounts of calories every day to survive, and a garden with right seeds and proper feeder helps wild birds to thrive.

Birds need to consume mind-boggling amounts of calories every day just to survive, and feeders help wild birds to thrive.

For example, a chickadee eats one-third of their body weight per day, whilst a hummingbird burns off around 10,000 calories in 24 hours (that’s four times more than the average man!). Providing easy access to seeds is a simple but important way to support native birds and help them flourish.

Greenfinches and Goldfinches on and around a bird feeder

Toss into the mix the energy demands of raising chicks, long migratory flights, or even molting and you see why bird feeders matter. It could be vital all year round, from the harsh weather of winter to the baked hard ground of summer, because life’s tough for wild birds. 

Choosing the right birdfeeder

There are many different types of bird feeders, and the right choice depends on the bird species and what they eat.

Traditional bird table

This is a tray or platform raised above the ground. The bird table is popular for a reason, in that it’s suitable for all foods and accessible to most birds. The traditional bird table is mounted on a pole, but there is also a wide variety of hanging platforms available, with the advantage of being harder for predators to access.

Garden birds feeding from a bird table

Trays

Simply place a tray feeder are placed on the ground and to limit the mess when feeding ground-dwelling birds. Just add corn, peanuts, or sunflower seeds to attract doves, ducks, pheasants, and quail.

Small birds sitting in a feeding tray

Tube feeders

As the name suggests, tube feeders are a hanging tube (to contain the seed), with feeding ports for the birds. When made from metal mesh, tube feeders allow birds to hang in a natural feeding position. Birds likely to visit include chickadees, finches, sparrows, titmice, and even some larger birds such as jays.

Coal tit feeding from a tube feeder

Nyger feeders

These are a similar design to tube feeders but made from a fine gauge mesh. This contains the small nyger seeds and allows birds with small beaks, such as finches, to get at the seeds.

Lesser redpoll feeding from a Nyger feeder

Hopper feeders

Hopper feeders are a container that stores enough seed for several days. The food is accessed via a tray or feeding ports at the bottom. Hoppers have the advantage of keeping the seed dry in wet weather, but on the downside may encourage condensation and spoilage. Birds found at hopper feeders include buntings, cardinals, chickadees, finches, grosbeaks, jays, and titmice.

Reat tit, long tailed tit and blue tit on a bird feeder

Nectar feeders

This feeder is different in that they hold liquid nectar for hummingbirds or oriels to drink via sipping ports. Nectar feeders can be hung from tree branches, mounted on hooks, or even attached to a window.

A juvenile hummingbird approaches a nectar feeder

Suet feeders

To attract woodpeckers and nuthatches, suet (beef or sheep fat) feeders are the way to go. These are a hanging mesh basket that allows the bird to peck at the suet inside. The bird can comfortably grip the feeder, like a woodpecker pecking at a tree trunk.

A downy woodpecker feeding from a suet feeder

Offer the right birdseed

Not all seeds are suitable for all birds and indeed offering cheap bird food bulked up with fillers may harm certain species.

Choosing a good seed mix

Healthy seed means healthy birds, so offer good quality seeds that are fresh and free from spoil. Avoid mixes bulked up with cheap fillers such as lentils, split peas, milo (birds rarely eat it in the wild), rice, and grains. Also, avoid foods containing crushed dog biscuits, as these should not be eaten dry.

Check the mix looks fresh and is free from dust, mold, insects, empty shells, or debris; and that the seeds have not been treated with insecticides which are toxic to birds.

A blue tit and its food

Seed-by-seed

Different species prefer different seeds, and offering a variety increases the range of feathered visitors to the table. Here is a brief guide:

Black sunflower seeds

These high-fat, slim seeds with an easy-open husk are firm favorites with blackbirds, cardinals, chickadees, doves, finches, grackles, grosbeaks, juncos, nutcrackers, nuthatches, and house sparrows.

Striped sunflower seeds

An excellent all-round seed just like the black sunflower seed, but the shell is harder to crack. This may discourage smaller birds, such as finches and sparrows from feeding, but remain hugely popular with cardinals, grackles, jays, and woodpeckers.

Hulled sunflower seeds

Sunflower seeds without a tough outer hull are a valuable easy-access, high-fat food that attracts a wide variety of birds including doves, goldfinches, titmice, and towhees, to name but a few. The lack of a shell also makes for less mess on the ground.

Whole and cracked corn

Whole kernel corn is too big for smaller birds to eat but great for their larger cousins such as crows, ducks, grackles, jays, and ravens. Cracked corn, as the name suggests, is smaller, making it suitable for blackbirds, cowbirds, juncos, quail, ravens, starlings, and towhees.

Nyger Seeds

Nyger (thistle) seeds are a small black seed, imported from India or Ethiopia. These seeds spoil easily so it’s important to source fresh, heat-sterilized varieties. Use these to attract birds such as the chickadee, doves, goldfinch, house finch, purple finch, and pine siskin.

Peanuts

Peanuts have a lower fat content than sunflower seeds and are ever popular as bird food. Shell-on peanuts are only suitable for birds with powerful beaks such as magpies, crows, and some woodpeckers. Hulled peanuts should only be fed unsalted, and are loved by bushtits, chickadees, cowbirds, crows. grackles, magpies, and ravens.

Safflower ceeds

Small but with a surprisingly tough shell, this power-packed seed is too much like hard work for grackles and starlings who prefer easier pickings. However, safflower seeds are nourishing for more determined birds including many finches, cardinals, chickadees, nuthatches, and titmice.

Suet

Although not a seed, suet deserves a special mention as a good source of energy for many wild birds such as chickadees, nuthatches, and woodpeckers. Just be careful to remove any plastic netting before putting the suet in a feeder, as birds may become tangled.

Sugar water

Sugar water in a nectar feeder attracts hummingbirds and orioles. Commercial nectar formulations are available, but a home-made version using one-part white sugar to four parts water is just fine.

White proso millet

White proso millet is the equivalent of millet caviar and much loved by ground-feeding birds, such as cardinals, doves, juncos, sparrows, and towhees. Try to avoid red millet, which is inferior and may go uneaten.

Where to put the birdfeeder

When choosing the best spot, think like a bird looking for shelter, peace, and safety. Choose a quiet, sheltered spot in the yard, where the birds can to feed undisturbed.

Also, try mounting the feeder on a shepherd’s hook or similar, making it more difficult for predators to reach them.

Birds are creatures of habit and will become confused if an existing bird feeder is moved. To attract yet more birds to the yard, place additional feeders in new locations.

Fertilizing D

Your _COMMON_NAME_ is growing slowly and leaves are dull and limp? Time to fertilize it. A water-soluble fertilizer with balanced NPK or high nitrogen formule is a good choice. Providing nitrogen helps plant leaves grow stronger and produce vivid green color.

Water-soluble fertilizers generally include ready-to-use,water soluble granules,Concentrate Liquid Fertilizer, etc. Ready-to-use type can be used directly, while water soluble granules/Concentrate Liquid Fertilizer needs to be diluted first. Simply spray water-soluble fertilizers on the leaves, especially the large ones. It will be absorbed through the leaves. Alternatively, you can add some fertilizer to the water when you water the soil, and the plants will absorb it through the roots.

Slow-release fertilizers generally include Smart-Release granules/spikes and compose. Slow-release fertilizers release fertilizers slowly, providing nutrients to plants continuously. When one plant are newly planted or repotted, slow-release fertilizers can be added to the soil as a basal fertilizer. When the plant grows stably, bury the slow-release fertilizer in the soil around the plant regularly or simply sprinkle the slow-release fertilizer on the soil surface, and the fertilizer will be released slowly with water.

Fertilizing C

Your _COMMON_NAME_ isn’t blooming as it should be? Or just few blooms with little buds? Maybe its time to fertilize. A water-soluble fertilizer with high phosphorus formule would be a good choice. Providing phosphorus helps plants to produce more, larger flowers with longer period of time.

Water-soluble fertilizers generally include ready-to-use,water soluble granules,Concentrate Liquid Fertilizer, etc. Ready-to-use type can be used directly, while water soluble granules/Concentrate Liquid Fertilizer needs to be diluted first. Simply spray water-soluble fertilizers on the leaves, especially the large ones. It will be absorbed through the leaves. Alternatively, you can add some fertilizer to the water when you water the soil, and the plants will absorb it through the roots.

Slow-release fertilizers generally include Smart-Release granules/spikes and compose. Slow-release fertilizers release fertilizers slowly, providing nutrients to plants continuously. When one plant are newly planted or repotted, slow-release fertilizers can be added to the soil as a basal fertilizer. When the plant grows stably, bury the slow-release fertilizer in the soil around the plant regularly or simply sprinkle the slow-release fertilizer on the soil surface, and the fertilizer will be released slowly with water.