How To Plant Laurel

The average sprinkler system delivers about an inch of water per hour, so you'll need to run the system two hours. When adding organic matter to the fill dirt, dig the hole as deep as the root ball and three times as wide so the shrub will have plenty...

The members of this genus are either deciduous or evergreen shrubs with inconspicuous flowers and lanceolate leaves that resemble those of the true laurel. The prize for the victors was an crown of Laurel leaves.So the answer might be: the Romans didn't...

You can hardly go wrong, especially if what you want is a bed of bright yellow, non-stop flowers throughout the long, hot summer. The smaller cultivars are great in containers and will brighten any spot.

Keep the rooted plants in a cold place like an unheated garage or outbuilding. Among native bees and wasps, onion flowers are equally popular. The hardiest of them, notably Brussels sprouts, kale, and many onions, will survive winter in the garden, while...

Sheets of cardboard can be used to kill off persistent weeds Perennial weeds with deep or spreading roots, including bindweed, ground elder and nettles can take a year or more to die off.

The best solution, if you have enough room in a sheltered spot, is to spread out the clippings on a hard surface and dry them out for a few days. They're often happy to let you have waste products such as sawdust for free to avoid having to pay to dispose...

When the best place you have to grow veggies and herbs is a sloping hillside, you can terrace your way to a garden that's beautiful, productive, and reasonably easy to maintain. Rebar stakes are the best way to reinforce wood-framed beds on a slope The...

Sweet Corn Stubble for Fall Crop Protection Every situation doesn't merit wholesale renewal. A sharp manual lawn edger will take down most cool-season cover crops in a matter of minutes.

To do this, plunge a spade into the ground about 25cm (10in) away from the central stem. Secure it at the sides with rocks or bricks. As summer loosens its hold and autumn looms ever closer, many nervous gardeners may be wondering: ‘Will my fruiting...

July and August is the best time to prune plums in most Northern Hemisphere locations. It's better to use a more powerful tool and make a clean cut than to struggle to force the blade of a lightweight tool through a thick branch.

Dried chilies are just as versatile as fresh chilies. Keep them whole or halved for dropping into spicy homemade curries, or pulverise them first – in the food processor or with the end of a weighty rolling pin (somewhat noisy but strangely satisfying!).

The best setups use drip irrigation or soaker hoses to deliver water right at the base of plants, near the roots. The moisture in the drill will drain through, encouraging the seedling's roots to follow.

You can save your own seed potatoes for second cropping by keeping some of your spring seeds back. Keep containers well watered because the compost can dry out quickly, even in wet weather.

Some fruits, particularly plums, can become exceptionally heavy if they aren't thinned, leading branches to strain then snap under the weight. Plums are notorious for over-producing – with often-disastrous results.

A few pots of choice favourites placed inside will almost certainly seal the deal. They will attack plants growing outdoors as well as in the greenhouse. Severely affected plants can eventually turn yellow and wilt, producing lacklustre growth at best.

Beans will also stop producing more pods if the existing ones are left to ripen to biological maturity – by forming seeds, the plants will have completed their lifecycle, and will have no reason to continue flowering.

When it comes to dealing with pests, a two-pronged organic approach is the most effective in the long term: protection and making the garden less appealing to pests. Pests can sometimes infiltrate your garden among the leaves or in the potting soil of...

Plant your seedlings into prepared ground. Harvest cabbages once the heads have firmed up How to Harvest Cabbage Use a sharp knife to cut your cabbages once the heads have firmed up.

This has the effect of reducing the air temperature inside to cool your drinks. They contribute to light pollution and diminish our ability to admire nature's light show, the stars.

Asian radishes grow slower than little salad radishes, so they are best planted about eight weeks before your first frost date. Diversify your fall garden with red-skinned Chinese radishes (top), white daikon radishes (right), and watermelon radishes...

Simmer until thick (this should take anywhere from one to three hours) then decant into sterilized jars. To freeze, slice vegetables then blanch (boil) them for one to five minutes.

My Swedish grandmother made a rutabaga-potato mash called rutamouse, which resembles Scottish neeps and tatties, or perhaps clapshot in Orkney. Pests tend to leave rutabagas alone when more tender cabbage or kale are present, in part because rutabaga...

You've sown it, grown it and harvested it. 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.

Seeds with an impermeable (waterproof) seed coat can benefit the most from nicking. For example, the “eye” of a black-eyed pea is the hilum. The hilum is easy to find on beans and peas.

Dry on paper towels and store separately from other seeds. If they are mature, you have a very good chance of saving them. After removing all the debris from the seeds, check them for moisture damage.Moisture can typically cause damage in the following...

They are essentially renewable plants, an environmentally responsible way to garden. The little guys can come up anywhere,, but that is half the fun. The term refers to plants that set viable seed, which finds fertile ground in a zone for which it is...

The very easiest method for rooting plants organically uses only one ingredient that you're guaranteed to have at home: spit. Dip your cutting in one of the wetter options listed here first to help the cinnamon stick better and double your protection.is...