How To Grow Crops

Just remember that they may get leggy and need more pinching back and pests like mealybugs and whitefly might find them tasty. Without a little guidance from seasoned veterans, they often choose seeds and plants that are more challenging than their budding...

I always have a huge display each summer on my east-facing front porch. They see fantastic combinations in magazines or on the web and feel that the exotic offerings are all that is available to them.

I take out a few of the oldest canes around the first week of February, but that's all the maintenance I do, other than remove any broken canes if we have an ice storm. The hips are large enough to be harvested and since rose hips contain a significant...

This pest can make a meal out of your summer sweet corn, so take these preventative steps so you get the final bite. The same species also feeds on tomatoes , where they're called tomato fruit worms.

A foe to crops from cucumbers to broccoli, this disease can be prevented with a few simple garden strategies. Some of the most common plants to be infested are the cucurbits (cucumbers, melons and squash), as well as crucifers (cabbage, broccoli and Brussels...

Although it's naturally found in tropical regions and greenhouses , the disease often arrives to the garden via purchased plants grown where the disease is present. Cercospora Leaf Spot ( Cercospora spp.) This fungal disease affects the leaves and stems...

Some good options include Marshall's Delight (a medium pink), Claire Grace (lavender), Prairie Night (purple), Aquarius (pale pink) and Stone's Throw Pink. Water Properly Powdery mildew tends to develop when water rests on the leaf surface, so irrigate...

Impatiens downy mildew is a pathogen that causes defoliation and plant death. Often new infections arrive in a garden from transplants that were not yet showing symptoms. You can try growing them in a different garden area, but depending on the weather...

If you have your heart set on giant red flowers or the neon combination of purple and chartreuse, chances are, it is available.Zinnias are surprisingly drought-hardy when established.

It's too-often a common scene: One minute, you have a strong stand of beans, and the next, it's covered with powdery mildew. On developed leaves, lesions start on the underside near the veins and progress to the upper surface.

Breeders are working on developing a sweet basil variety that's resistant to basil downy mildew. Spores can be carried for miles on the air, in plant tissue, or even in seeds. If you flip the leaves over, you'll spy tiny, purplish-gray spores scattered...

While we only have four cultivated roses on our property, for the sake of the neighbor's roses, I plan to head out to the woods this winter and get rid of any multiflora roses I can find.

Water at the base of the plant to keep moisture off leaves. For nearly complete exclusion, floating row covers can also be used to prevent the adult looper moths and other species from laying eggs among your broccoli plantings.

Leaves turn grayish-brown and shrivel up as entire plants—leaves, fruits and stem—rot away. Prevent disease-causing funguses that could be killing your tomato crop from spreading across your garden.

Great for new gardeners, lazy gardeners and busy gardeners. Without a little guidance from seasoned veterans, they often choose seeds and plants that are more challenging than their budding skills can handle.

The classic symptoms of the virus on tomatoes include a yellowing or “bronzing” of the top sides of tender leaves, which quickly will lead to spotting necrosis and curling. Use reflective mulch and cultural weed control strategies to help keep thrip...

Other species of microbial inoculants are useful for alfalfa, clovers and other members of the legume family. Using pea inoculants is the first step to growing a hearty crop of productive plants.

“We call those plant-parasitic nematodes,” says Michael Celetti, plant pathologist and horticultural crops program lead at the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food. Because they have such a broad host range, crop rotation alone will not suffice.

Regardless of your garden style, there is a perfect daylily for your landscape.From their humble origins many centuries ago, the genus has been refined and thousands of hybrids created, so there are an almost unlimited number of choices available.

As for seedlings, thin young plants to create better airflow, and don't overwater. Get Rid Of It: Because scab is generally discovered upon harvest, it's hard to detect. Downy Mildew Type of Disease: fungus Crops Affected: squash, cucumbers and other...

Never work when vines are wet, as fungal spores are easily spread in wet conditions. Select grape varieties hardy in your part of the country and with an innate resistance to fungal issues, such as brown rot and powdery mildew.

Water Roses Low and Early Because black spot thrives on wet foliage, irrigate your roses only at ground level. Clean Up The Rose Garden Black spot easily overwinters on any fallen foliage that's allowed to remain in the garden.

This Christmas I'll be looking at the holly and the ivy in my garden beds and singing this ancient carol with new respect. The symbolism stuck, but the dissonance was captured in the carol, “The Holly and the Ivy.” At the time, the holly was symbolic...

Some growers plant leek seedlings in a foot-deep trench. As soon as the seedlings are as thick as piece of heavy thread, they can be planted out into the garden. I can harvest these all winter long and even well into the following spring.

Although the American chestnut population has been devastated by chestnut blight, you can work to keep the holiday tradition of "roasting chestnuts on an open fire” alive. Chestnut blight wiped out almost all of the American chestnut starting in the...

As the berries mature, they go from light pink to dark blue, eventually aging to a purplish-black. Beautyberry ( Callicarpa dichotoma ) The arching branches of the beautyberry (pictured above) are covered in clusters of the most glorious, bright-purple...

In the dead of January, it can be particularly difficult to imagine that you'll soon be needing to prepare the ground for planting. Sage will figure prominently in this expansion, and will most likely escape from their boring rows and out into a modified...