Rebar stakes are the best way to reinforce wood-framed beds on a slope The frames or low walls used to stabilize a terraced vegetable garden can be made from many different materials, including those discussed below.
A small wire bin collects the mess, and gives me a place to put the remains of seed-bearing herbs and flowers that reseed with a little help. Cool-season cover crops are a beautiful and bioactive way to increase your soil's organic matter content during...
As summer loosens its hold and autumn looms ever closer, many nervous gardeners may be wondering: ‘Will my fruiting vegetables ripen in time?' This is a reasonable question to ask as the weather takes an inevitable turn for the worse.
Remove covers during the day to enable pollination, then replace it in the evening to provide a little warmth and protection against lower temperatures. It's naturally full of potassium, which fruit and pod-bearing plants love.
A pest is just a creature that likes the same food we do, so show some tolerance, protect what crops you can, and use nature's own balancing system to ensure your crop doesn't get munched before you have time to harvest it.
Continue to water cabbages as they grow. Red cabbages are popular for braising or pickling. Netting protects cabbages from pests such as cabbage white butterflies Caring for Cabbage Cabbages are prone to attack from pigeons and caterpillars of the cabbage...
Position it somewhere you can easily hear it so it becomes a relaxing backdrop as you go about your business. LED lighting is low cost, versatile and doesn't use much electricity. Choose a clump-forming variety, so it doesn't spread through your garden...
The leaves are thin, smooth and hairless compared to other radishes, with attractive red stems. Asian radishes including daikons, Chinese radishes, and watermelon radishes are great fun to grow as summer turns to fall, but you'll need to get busy.
Drying and Dehydrating Fruits and Vegetables Drying is one of the very easiest methods of preserving, requiring no specialist skills – just lots of fresh produce. Follow the steps above.
See my Miraculous Micronutrients article for more information on using boron in the vegetable garden. Harvesting and Storing Rutabagas Rutabagas make rapid growth once they become established, producing a profusion of leaves that show the plants' crossed...
You may find you need to stake the plants as they stretch out to flower. Saving Lettuce Seeds Lettuces produce literally thousands of seeds on each seed head. When you come to think about it, saving seed is the ultimate in self-sufficiency.
Make pruning cuts to an upward-facing bud to prevent branches from drooping too much when heavy with fruit Some plum varieties, like ‘Victoria', tend to grow branches that spread outwards horizontally.
Drying is an excellent way of preserving chilies. Thread the other end of the line through a darning needle then begin threading on your chillies. Using a Dehydrator to Dry Chili Peppers An alternative to air-drying is to use a dehydrator set to a suitable...
Again, take care to water well before laying it. Allow the water to completely drain away, then fill and drain once again before you sow. Try two – one for each hand. This extra layer serves a few purposes: it shades the soil from the sun, helping to...
Keep them on a cool, bright windowsill. This creates more ‘room' for the developing spuds to grow into (container potatoes are topped up as they grow for the same reason). Plants Related to this Article Potatoes (Early) Grow Guide Potatoes (Maincrop)...
Their smaller fruitlets may be thinned using just your thumb and finger to detach the surplus. Thinning Other Fruit Trees Pears need less thinning than apples but will still benefit from having young fruits thinned out to give consistent harvests.
Needless to say, the first line of control is to take action as soon as they appear; the early gardener catches the whitefly, so to speak. They have a triangular shape, like tiny, anaemic cheese wedges.
Troubleshooting Onion root maggots can cause plants to collapse. Feeding Not normally required. Planting and Harvesting Calendar < Back to All Plants Pests which Affect Shallots Aphids (General) Slug Snail Plant Diseases which Affect Shallots Allium White...
Tips: Most conventionally grown cucumbers and melons are grown with dangerous systemic pesticides, so organic pest control is worth the time and effort. Populations quickly build, and the beetles further damage plants by feeding on flower and transmitting...
Blossom clusters make beautiful but short-lived cut flowers or edible garnishes. Borage attracts large buzzing insects that dominate their air space. Frost tolerant Seedlings will survive light frosts, but older plants are easily damaged.
Damage: When young onion plants wilt for no apparent reason, pull up a sample plant to check for legless worms (maggots) feeding on it roots. Be sure to get covers installed early, before the newly emerged adults fly in search of host plants.
Crop Rotation Group Miscellaneous ● Soil Any average, well drained soil. Troubleshooting Control valerian's spread by cutting back flowering stems before they can shed seeds in your garden.
Gather stems for drying or steeping into tinctures in early summer, just before the plants bloom. Companions Squash, Tomato and Beans. Planting and Harvesting Calendar < Back to All Plants Pests which Affect Lemon Balm Aphids (General) Slug Snail
Companions Daylily, Catnip, Bells of Ireland and Salvia. Perennial candytuft makes an ideal companion plant. Troubleshooting Tulips are often eaten by deer and squirrels. Position Full sun.
Crop Rotation Group Miscellaneous ● Soil Fertile, well-drained soil. Troubleshooting White ageratum blossoms go brown as they age, which is not as noticeable in varieties that bloom blue.
Spacing Single Plants: 1' 7" (50cm) each way (minimum) Rows: 1' 5" (45cm) with 1' 11" (60cm) row gap (minimum) Sow and Plant Start seedlings indoors or start with purchased plants.
Companions Onion, Onions and Radish. Position Sun or partial shade. Planting and Harvesting Calendar < Back to All Plants Pests which Affect Parsnip Aphids (General) Carrot Rust Fly Slug Snail Plant Diseases which Affect Parsnip Carrot Powdery Mildew
