Central Texas gardener John Dromgoole, for Backyard Basics, teaches all he knows about propagating cuttings and dividing plants in this 5 minute video. John is a man with a dark past! He used to “steal and borrer” cuttings when he could not afford to go out and buy all the plants he wanted. That’s how he learned the tricks of the trade.

Watch how he takes cuttings from the various plants and places them carefully in a 50/50 potting soil and perlite mix. He identifies plants such as geraniums, coleus, wandering jew, impatiens, strobilanthes and begonias as good candidates for cuttings. But the message John sends out is that taking cuttings from any plant and trying to propagate them is worth a shot. That’s why he keeps that dinky little knife in his pocket when he goes to the garden center…

Somewhere in England there is an attractive woman called Claire who has an insatiable desire to tell you what she plants in her allotment and how she goes about it. Claire is a really hard worker. In this, Part 6 in the Claire’s Allotment series, she shows us how to clean a greenhouse. It’s common sense really. You sweep it, removing any excess grass, paper, plastic, bits and pieces. Then you take out the shelves and wash them. You also wash the walls of the greenhouse (don’t forget the door) with disinfectant to kill any bugs that may be harmful to plants in future. And you are ready for spring.

This video is a punt for an electronic product called Rapitest. Although it’s an advert it is well worth the 1 min, 26 seconds it take to watch it. It is interesting to learn that a small electronic device can tell you this much about the environment in which you have planted or are planning to plant lawns, shrubs, flowers trees and even plants in containers.

As the spokesperson rightly says, “Healthy soil and the correct soil for the plant in question are key to successful gardening and lawn care.” This little device tests a whole range of factors, including the soil quality. First it measures light so you can be sure you are planting the plant in the right spot. Then it tests fertility so you can see whether composting is required. It also tests the pH so you can ascertain if the soil is acid or alkaline. Some plants are sensitive to pH. Finally it tests moisture. Is the soil too wet, too dry, just right? I like this last feature for house plants, or any plants in containers, which are notoriously susceptible to dying of thirst. This Rapitest electronic soil tester is a neat device for keen gardeners who like accuracy and dislike failure.

When you need to buy a shovel, don’t just go picking one off the shelf at random or selecting one according to what is the cheapest. Shovels by their nature take a lot of strain, so make sure you buy the strongest, best-made one you can afford.

DIYMaster shows you in a 4 min, 43 second video on Life Videopedia just what to look for. He does this the best way possible, by comparing an inferior No 2 shovel with a strong and well-made one. As the DIYMaster says, “Shovels are the most frequently used tool, but they do come in a bewildering array of sizes and quality types.” That sums up the reason you should look at this video before taking the seemingly pedestrian step of going out to buy a shovel.

I learned a few fascinating facts from DIYMaster, who certainly knows his shovels. The most commonly used size shovel is a number 2 shovel (the size he demonstrates in the video). Your shovel should be appropriate to your age, strength, state of health and the task you envisage for the shovel.

Then there are two basic ways in which these shovels are constructed. (This is really interesting.) There is the hollow head type, which is beaten steel with a handle pushed through the frog-like fitting at the end of the head. And then there is the super-strong and properly made type, the forged steel type which is manufactured at high heat (1600 to 2000 degrees) and formed into a shape. These forged shovels are heavier and denser than the sheet metal type, really good for heavy duty work and long life. The forged type has a strong, hollow tube into which the handle fits snuggly so no water and dirt gets in to promote perishing. A really good shovel will have a tube that does not end straight where the wooden handle enters but has a tail-tab with an extra rivet for extra rivet. Watch the video for details of this vital characteristic of a good shovel. Finally, the handle should be good, clean, straight-grained piece of lumber, usually American ash, with the grain running parallel to your leg, straight down to the shovel-head for extra strength. And make sure the handle is the right height for you. A shovel should be as custom-made for yourself and your task as it possibly can be without going to an ironsmith to have one made.

Oprah’s younger, lovelier sister, Pattie Moreno, a.k.a. The Garden Girl for Farmer’s Almanac TV, tells us that you can have a lovely indoor garden in just 6′ x 14′ of “linear space.”

I don’t know what linear space is compared to, say, other types of space, but it sure was miraculous seeing her restore those tables and chairs with shellac, put up shelves and install fluorescent lights, all of this in just 3 mins and 16 seconds and for under $200 “half what you spend on an instant indoor garden kit,” said Patti. This was only Part 1 so I guess Patti gets to the plants themselves in Part 2.

Here is a regular Ben Hur of a production, over 10 mins long, compliments of Gardenfork.tv and starring Eric the really informal gardener, his two golden retrievers, one frisbee and the spooky voice of the Witch Of The Woods. The average full-length movie is about 100 minutes long so you must know that this is a long, long video in internet video terms. You are going to get to know these people well, perhaps much better than you’d like.

In return you will be shown how to make a raised garden bed which, at the end of the day, is just a 2″ x 12″ x 12′ rough lumber box (treat the lumber with linseed if you must) and placed on the surface of the yard (with or without galvanized screening pinned to the bottom to keep out moles) and then filled with composted manure and suchlike. We are never told why one would want to have a raised garden bed (except the vole and mole problem we surmise) but we certainly do get to see Rover and Bonzo running for that frisbee as the Witch Of The Weeds chortles into the mike and black flies infest the lens….

Come back Robert Redford, all is forgiven.

Down Sacramento way this is how the ladies of The Sacramento Bee make a simple garden fountain when the cookies are baking in the oven. It is well worth watching this 3 minute video on Howcast if you are serious about putting together a garden or tabletop fountain. It is also worth noting that the spokesperson Gwen Schoen omits to tell us two important things: how the water pump gets powered and where the water comes from (is it the same water used over and over?), so you need to ask someone at the craft store, hardware shop or gardening center to explain this when you buy the pump.

Okay, what you need is a water pump, rubber hose, flower pots, a cork, cobble stones, water and water plants. You need a small pot to work in conjunction with a larger pot. You really need to watch the video to get a measure of this. The pump you need should be able to pump water to a height of 12″ to 24″ and the lower pot should be deep enough for you to submerge the pump entirely. This pot must also be one that does not rust or leak. As long as you know how the pump is being powered and where the water comes from, making this simple garden fountain should be a breeze — if you follow Gwen’s video closely.

Are the hose pipes in your yard a muddy, tangled mess? Anne McMahon from Yardlover.com says there is a solution to this problem. What about hose pots! She describes hose pots as “a beautiful solution to an ugly problem.”

Using a hose pot you are placing a pot around the “neck” of your hose and storing the tail of it within the pot. The head part feeds through a hole in the side of a pot leading to the faucet. These pots remind me of the type of containers occupied by the snakes of snake charmers in India. They are beautiful. The ones Anne shows are made of resin or metal. They are certainly a lot nicer looking than a piled up and forgotten hose.

Humans are notoriously inert. Will the type of person who allows a hosepipe to hang around the yard develop into a paragon of efficiency who will painstakingly coil the hose into the pot after use? I’m not sure. It’s a well-meant idea anyway. Take a look at the 1 min, 16 second and make a snap decision about whether hose pots are for you.

2-year gardening veteran Peggy Robertson believes that gardening is great relaxation and a wonderful way to give something back tot he planet. Here in an Expert Village video (1 min, 45 secs) she talks about selecting the right size pot for a plant. It is something you can really only appreciate with visual assistance, so make sure and look at the video.

Essentially the plant should be happy and thriving and filling the space at the top of the pot. It should also show off the pot to its best advantage. So a plant that is too big for its pot will look miserable and the leaves will be yellowing. The plant will overwhelm the pot and no soil will be visible when you try to move the leaves to see it. A plant that is too small for its pot will be lost in the large space above the pot, inviting the question: “Gosh, what else are you planning to plant in there?” There will be lots of soil still showing. So a happy compromise is what you are after. Plants in pots should be visually pleasing, that’s the main thing.

Bonsai master Mike Hansen, owner of Midwest Bonsai, gives a potted lesson for total beginners in this 2 min, 11 sec video on Expert Village. Mike is a diffident man that has spent most of his life tending to these miniature trees. It is worth listening to his quiet, gentle expertise.

Mike puts the viewer right on three important points. The first is that “805 of bonsai trees that die, die from lack of watering.” It is not being small that kills these little trees, but sheer thirst. Mike points out that bonsai potting soil is quite coarse. It is not meant to retain water. At best, the soil in a bonsai pot will hold water for no more than a day and maybe less at the height of summer.

Another point Mike makes is that many beginner bonsai growers put their little potted trees on the window sill, TV or coffee table and then are disappointed when the tree dies. Mike says: “In fact, bonsai trees are outdoor plants. They would do better on the patio — which is not to say they couldn’t do with some protection.” Mike cautions against “loving your bonsai to death — literally.”

Mike reminds us that bonsai trees are small because they are pruned to be that way, and not because of hunger! “So make sure they have enough water, fertilizer, fresh and air sunshine.”

Wise words about bonsai from Mike Hansen, who is someone that knows.