Most plants will thrive with a mulch of compost. They'll feed the lawn, ensuring it keeps producing more healthy growth for you to cut and use. Your plants will thank you! < All Guides
By midsummer, the structure that underpins a terraced vegetable garden disappears as it is overrun by exuberant plants. An ideal design is comprised of beds sized to fit the hillside in ways that make them easy to plant and maintain.
By the time planting day comes, the soil will be as crumbly as chocolate cake. It gets better: The cut corn stalks made handy weights for securing the edges of the cover. I like to restore my haggard tomato patch with a cover crop of mustard , which can...
This odorless, tasteless gas is the vital catalyst that turns under-ripe green fruit to red, yellow and many a color in between. Like many flowering plants, the most effective way to speed up ripening is to simply remove ripe fruits as they appear.
Make sure your tools are sharp and sturdy enough for the job; hand pruners can be used for very small twigs, but anything larger calls for loppers or a saw. These branches begin to droop when they're heavy with fruit, and are liable to break.
The warm flow of air will see the fruits dried out within 24 hours or so. Cotton thread comes a close second. The fruits can be picked as soon as the seeds inside have matured, when they will have turned from small and white to full-sized and beige.
Again, take care to water well before laying it. You can use taller crops to shade shorter ones, but in scorching weather drastic action may be needed. This technique ensures a really thorough watering that makes very efficient use of water.
Potato foliage can be kept snug with an insulating layer of fleece, removed during the day to allow maximum sunlight penetration. You can save your own seed potatoes for second cropping by keeping some of your spring seeds back.
Now remove the smallest fruits and any that are awkwardly positioned. We need to thin them to just one or two fruits per cluster. Start by cutting away any misshapen, damaged or scarred fruits.
Greenhouse (or glasshouse) whitefly are closely related to aphids but a touch smaller, at around 1-2mm (a twelfth of an inch) long. Whitefly love the color yellow and will flock to the cards, only to get stuck and meet their end.
Wonderful Watermelon Radishes The round radishes with red interiors called watermelon radishes have a more poetic name in their native home of China – shin ri mei , or “beauty in the heart.” These round radishes grow to 4 inches (10cm) in diameter,...
Like a fine wine, chutney matures with age as all the ingredients meld into a delicious symphony of flavors. Simmer until thick (this should take anywhere from one to three hours) then decant into sterilized jars.
The most stalwart members of the turnip tribe, rutabagas are a rustic cross between wild turnip and cultivated cabbage that came about in Scandinavia, Russia or perhaps Lithuania in the late Middle Ages.
Only save seeds from heirloom varieties Saving Bean & Pea Seeds OK, so let's begin with the easiest of the lot: peas and beans! As the end of the season approaches leave some pods to dry out on the plant.
Alternatively, plant first thing in spring, or grow from seed and set out seedlings in early spring. Remove infested plants. Notes Used in place of onions for concentrated flavor. Troubleshooting Onion root maggots can cause plants to collapse.
Use yellow sticky traps to monitor populations. You can also try growing varieties like ‘Little Leaf' and slicing cucumbers, which lack the bitter gene and are less attractive to the cucumber beetles.
Planting and Harvesting Calendar < Back to All Plants Pests which Affect Borage Aphids (General) Slug Snail Blossom clusters make beautiful but short-lived cut flowers or edible garnishes.
Gather them for use as cut flowers to keep valerian from reseeding and becoming invasive. 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...
Lemon balm grows into a rounded mound. Troubleshooting Control lemon balm's spread by cutting back flowering stems in late summer. Notes Lemon balm is very easy to grow. Gather stems for drying or steeping into tinctures in early summer, just before the...
Our Garden Planner can produce a personalized calendar of when to sow, plant and harvest for your area. Companions Daylily, Catnip, Bells of Ireland and Salvia. Harvesting Cut tulips to use as cut flowers just as the buds open.
Our Garden Planner can produce a personalized calendar of when to sow, plant and harvest for your area. Tall varieties often are grown as cut flowers. Crop Rotation Group Miscellaneous ● Soil Fertile, well-drained soil.
Frost tolerant No. Feeding Weekly liquid feed or seaweed drench from mid summer onwards. Store at room temperature. Set out after the last frost has passed, when the soil is warm and settled.
Frost tolerant Yes. Mulch to deter weeds and keep soil moist. Spacing Single Plants: 7" (20cm) each way (minimum) Rows: 7" (20cm) with 11" (30cm) row gap (minimum) Sow and Plant Sow direct into soil, and cover the seeded bed or furrow with a board to...
Planting and Harvesting Calendar < Back to All Plants Pests which Affect Hazel Aphids (General) Fall Webworms Slug Snail Harvesting Harvest when the husks begin to turn yellow in early fall.
Harvesting Harvest young onions as scallions. Position Full sun. When bulbs form and the tops of the plants fall over, pull them and cure in a warm place for about 10 days before storing.
Harvesting Many muskmelons and cantaloupes separate naturally from the stem when the melons are ripe, so they come away from the vine with only a gentle tug. Our Garden Planner can produce a personalized calendar of when to sow, plant and harvest for...
