Aquarium Plants Guide

Retaining wall blocks that mimic stone are easy to work with, and their uniform size simplifies bed construction. All can be reinforced with iron rebar stakes, which are far superior to wood stakes because they never rot.

It's time to renovate neglected beds and get late crops planted, lavish summer compost on everything, and step into soil-improvement season by sowing weed-choking green manure crops.

Remove the cover during the day or leave it in place if it is forecast to remain cold. If temperatures remain below this for much of the day, chances are the fruits will simply fail to ripen.

Branches that rub together will cause wounds, so they should be removed. Photo by Jerzy Opiola In summer the leaves of infected plums take on a silvery sheen (although the leaves themselves are not infectious), then once the wood dies the bracket-shaped...

Lay them out onto your trays and set them to dry. Storing Dried Chili Peppers Dried chili peppers can be stored in any airtight container. If you don't have a dehydrator you can simply dry your fruits by threading them onto lengths of fishing line or...

Balance and Speed Using a watering can? Fruit trees, canes and bushes can be mulched with chunkier materials such as bark chippings, or fibrous materials like straw. If your water source is some distance from your beds, it also means less walking back...

Plant some seed potatoes in late summer and you could be enjoying a bonanza of earthy nuggets from late autumn right through to Christmas. You can also protect plants against light frosts by wrapping the container in layers of corrugated cardboard or...

It sounds counterintuitive, but there's logic behind this apparent madness I promise! Read on or watch our video to find out why we do it. Thin fruits clusters to two fruits, so there's around 4-6 inches (10-15cm) between fruits.

Organic insecticidal soap. Simply paint or color in cards yellow, then smear with a concoction of petroleum jelly cut with a little dishwashing liquid. Needless to say, the first line of control is to take action as soon as they appear; the early gardener...

Diversify your fall garden with red-skinned Chinese radishes (top), white daikon radishes (right), and watermelon radishes (left) Daikon radishes have long, upright leaves with wavy edges, and some varieties can develop roots more than 12 inches (30cm)...

Preserving techniques help to spread out sudden gluts so that summer's bounty can be enjoyed later on in the year when fresh pickings are thin on the ground. It's a nuisance – albeit a welcome one.

Rutabaga sprouts are loaded with antioxidants. By any name, they are a top storage crop to grow in the fall garden. The same pests that bother other brassicas can affect rutabagas, but they usually don't.

...And the Worst Vegetables for Seed Saving Avoid saving seeds from the cabbage family. F1 hybrids should include ‘F1' in the variety name on the seed packet. You may find you need to stake the plants as they stretch out to flower.

Alternatively, plant first thing in spring, or grow from seed and set out seedlings in early spring. Feeding Not normally required. Our Garden Planner can produce a personalized calendar of when to sow, plant and harvest for your area.

Use yellow sticky traps to monitor populations. Populations quickly build, and the beetles further damage plants by feeding on flower and transmitting a disease called bacterial wilt, which causes plants to wilt and die.

Harvesting Cut back borage plants by half their size in midsummer to encourage reblooming. Spacing Single Plants: 1' 1" (35cm) each way (minimum) Rows: 11" (30cm) with 1' 11" (60cm) row gap (minimum) Sow and Plant Plant the large seeds in your garden...

Beneficial nematodes are the only effective treatment for this pest. Dig and move perennial onions every fall. Be sure to get covers installed early, before the newly emerged adults fly in search of host plants.

Position Full sun to partial afternoon shade. Spacing Single Plants: 2' 11" (90cm) each way (minimum) Rows: 2' 11" (90cm) with 2' 11" (90cm) row gap (minimum) Sow and Plant Start with a purchased plant, or start seeds indoors and set out seedlings two...

Lemon balm grows into a rounded mound. Companions Squash, Tomato and Beans. Our Garden Planner can produce a personalized calendar of when to sow, plant and harvest for your area. Position Any sunny spot.

Tulips bloom at the same time as dogwoods and other spring-flowering trees in most climates. Perennial candytuft makes an ideal companion plant. Harvesting Cut tulips to use as cut flowers just as the buds open.

Position Full sun to partial shade. Tall varieties often are grown as cut flowers. Harvesting Snip off spent blossoms to keep plants looking neat, and to prolong flowering. In midsummer, drench plants with a liquid plant food to stimulate new growth.

Our Garden Planner can produce a personalized calendar of when to sow, plant and harvest for your area. Position Full sun. Companions Marigold, Broccoli, Chives, Mint, Borage, Parsley, Basil, Pepper, Asparagus, Monarda, Lettuce, Garlic, Dill and Calendula.

Germination often takes up to 2 weeks. Position Sun or partial shade. Feeding Not required. Can be left in the soil through winter in many areas. Mulch to deter weeds and keep soil moist.

Hazelnuts grow best in climate such as the Pacific Northwest, where winters are chilly yet mild. A wide hole is better than a very deep one. Harvesting Harvest when the husks begin to turn yellow in early fall.

In clay soil, grow in raised beds or rows. Companions Beet, Carrot, Swiss Chard and Cabbage. Grow short-day varieties in southern latitudes. Troubleshooting Weed early and often to keep onions growing strong.

Often grown in widely spaced enriched hills, or in well-aged compost heaps that include some soil. Our Garden Planner can produce a personalized calendar of when to sow, plant and harvest for your area.

Preventing Problems: In areas where this pest is common, hang pheromone-baited sticky traps in apple trees in early summer, before fruits grow larger than your thumbnail. The fly larvae tunnel through the fruit as they feed, making the fruit lumpy, disfigured,...