pruning and cloning

hi I have a few questions that I don't have answers for:

1. when cloning plants they should be left in the shade correct? Should i cover them with plastic to keep the humidity as in a green house?

2. i have a big patch of sandy earth in the yard, we have 3 big dogs that keep running around and preventing things from growing properly. i thought about starting to mulch small areas of a few square meters at a time so that some weeds even will have a chance to grow (or cloves spread fast I heard) is there a better way?

3. pruning in general confuses me.. i don't know what and how much to prune so i end up not touching anything. i read that plants like basil or spinach, or herbs need to be pruned so that they spread out vertically instead of growing straight up. how to do it? what about pruning vegetables like tomatoes or pumpkin?

thank you people.

in my experience i finid that most cuttings etc do best with moisture and shade..yes.

as for the dogs..they will take the shortest route to where they want to go..the only saving grace is to block their route.

there are great articles and books on pruning..look up the individual plant in question and read read read..

I have had the same experience as brenda with cuttings.

how big is the sandy patch? are the dogs digging in it or just going through it? it is hard to keep anything growing on sand.

I don't prune anything in the vegi garden such as tomatoes or pumpkins.

3.  I read a good pruning book that started by saying the author learned it all by returning to trees he had pruned one, five, fifteen years afterward.

The basics: The shape and extent of a plant is a history of which buds have grown, and how quickly.  Hormones flow through the plant, shifting the odds of which bud will grow: inhibiting hormones flow down from higher parts of the plant and are destroyed by sunlight, so highest-up, farthest-out, best-lit buds tend to win.  You can sever buds or pick them out to limit the plant's options.  Reaching in with a thumbnail early on can keep a tree from wasting nutrients on leaves that won't catch any sun, fruit that would break it in half, or on branches that would throw it off balance or strangle other branches.  Plants heal from wounds, but they heal better if the person pruning knows how this happens and what to expect.

1.  I have read that cuttings do much better in damp enclosures, and that picking off 2/3 of the leaves serves the same purpose as limiting sun exposure (i.e., reducing moisture loss), but works better.

2.  You might consider placing old tires or pallets full of mulch and/or earth (or something similarly cheap and sturdy) to block their way.  That will give you some variety of height to work with, and not take much space away from useful gardening.  You might even find an arrangement that doesn't block bipeds.

I have lots to say .... at the same time I want to split this into three threads.

1) a thread in "organic practices" about "plant cloning"

2) a thread in "lawn care" about "dogs wearing down the growies"

3)  a thread about "pruning" - posted here or in "organic practices" - depending on where it is posted, I would have different things to say.

I guess what I'm fishing for is ...  "Hey, yaniv!  If you start three new threads, I'll be glad to add my obnoxious opinion!"

(I suppose I could try to use my mighty admin powers to do that, but just starting three new threads seems so much easier)

So I edited the first post so I could change the subject line.  So I figure we can talk about cloning and pruning here.  But I'm gonna skip over the lawn stuff - and leave that for you to bring up in the lawn forum.

pruning in general confuses me.. i don't know what and how much to prune so i end up not touching anything. i read that plants like basil or spinach, or herbs need to be pruned so that they spread out vertically instead of growing straight up. how to do it? what about pruning vegetables like tomatoes or pumpkin?

So your only concern about pruning is with annuals?  Not trees?

I think the only time I prune an annual is if I happen to spot something funky to cut off.