Avoid planting corn in overly moist soil because it can damage and stunt the crop. Planting corn too early or late in the year may reduce the corn's height and yield. Compacted soil restricts root development and disturbs its growth, forcing it into lateral...
Once roots begin to sprout, only the roots need to be in the water, and the tuber can be safely dry. More than a Thanksgiving tradition, sweet potatoes can also be an ornamental plant, adding terrific color and texture to your containers! Ornamental sweet...
Miniature greenish-yellow blooms appear on spikes in spring and early summer, followed by tiny red berries. That tops out at about 12 inches. The plant may not be statuesque, but the golden-yellow grass provides plenty of bright color in soggy garden...
While you can use the leaves in teas or simply bruised for their scent, the most popular part of the plant is the rhizome, the root-like tuber that grows underground. Remove the leaves and wash the roots.The rhizomes are about 0.75 inches in diameter...
Corn offers carbohydrates while beans provide protein. After her two younger sisters seem to disappear, the oldest girl mourns their loss, but the three are finally reunited at harvest time.
Each kernel has a hollow core which contains a small amount of moisture. However human consumption of corn is low on the food chain as far as uses for this valuable commodity. It is also the source of high fructose corn syrup that is often added to many...
Regardless of corn type, all are tropical annual grasses that need a fertile soil that is warm. Corn types that must fully mature and dry kernels and cobs may need a sunny garden plot free from frost for upward of 120 to 150 days after planting.
To prepare sweet corn for freezing: Shuck corn, and clean off all the silk. Tags sweet corn Freeze tasty summer corn—and other vegetables—to eat after the season ends. Eben Fodor details instructions for building solar dryers in his book, The Solar...
As the name suggests, corn stunt disease causes severely stunted plants that may not exceed 5 feet in height (1.5 m.). Destroy any volunteer corn plants that sprout following harvest.
If it's good, ripe, sweet corn, it doesn't really even need the boiling, the butter or the salt and pepper. The rest of Italy eats corn in the form of polenta, which is like corn-meal pudding.
No sooner than I entered the gate, I was smitten with the bright yellow daisy-like, nickel size flowers of the butter daisies. The smaller cultivars are great in containers and will brighten any spot.
This gives it a longer shelf-life in the freezer and a better taste overall. Many of us also have vacuum processors as well, and they are great for freezing vegetables. Corn is easy to put by for the winter and you don't have to own any special equipment...
These are all attractive attributes for kids, so warn them that the plant isn't edible. Water often enough to keep the soil slightly moist. Plant the seeds 2 feet apart on the surface of the soil and sprinkle a 1/8-inch layer of soil over them.
Other types of combines must be towed or pushed by a tractor or other engine-baring piece of farm equipment. Machines used for harvesting corn have gradually become more complex and more expensive.
Last fall I attended a dinner where the host used a huge garden carrot as the centerpiece. Stored in separate plastic bags, sound specimens will keep in great condition until late winter or early spring.
Remain Vigilant With the ground cleared it's important to act quickly to remove any resurfacing weeds. To outwit weeds you'll need to wage a concerted campaign on several fronts, but it can be done, and without resorting to weedkillers.
If you're unable to do this, do be aware that fresh grass clippings may root into the soil and contain grass seeds. Best of all, mulch can be made – for free! – in your own garden.
Drainage is never an issue, though I've noticed that some soil moves downhill along with rainwater. I love the way plants stack up in a hillside garden, layer upon layer, so that it looks even more lush than it really is.
Kale seedlings ready to transplant atop buried caches of summer compost 2. The legumes germinate best while the soil is still warm, so they are usually planted in September. By the time planting day comes, the soil will be as crumbly as chocolate cake.
Alternatively, assuming your back's up to it and you're feeling strong, you could yank at the central stem to tear some (but not all!) of the roots – just enough to reduce the volume of moisture reaching the plant and to create artificially dry conditions.
They are a whitish colour, with a wooly surface and purplish-brown underside. Make sure to choose upward-pointing shoots to counteract this. Silver leaf disease is spread by spores from a bracket fungus.
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!).
Two watering cans are better than one! Don't Blast Your Plants A strong spray from a hose can knock plants about or blast potting soil out of containers. Suspend it over plants to help them keep their cool.
If you've grown them in the ground, use a border fork to carefully dig the plants up, starting some way from the plant to avoid accidentally spearing your hard-won tubers. Set the seeds onto a layer of compost or potting soil about 10cm (4in) deep, or...
Finally, continue thinning until the fruits are evenly spaced, leaving only the biggest and healthiest. Early summer offers us a tempting taste of what's to come in the fruit garden.
Recipes abound for homemade insecticidal soaps. Gross as it is, Encarsia formosa are formidable at controlling whitefly within a greenhouse. Sticky traps help monitor greenhouse whitefly populations, and are easy to make at home 4.
Top Up Mulches for A Nutrient Boost Mulches of organic material applied earlier in the season may now be looking a little scant. And if you're heading away from home for more than a week, encourage your neighbors to harvest them – they'll get free food...
