Use a fertilizer designed formixed at one-quarter strength once a year in spring. If you have several shrubs, amend the entire bed. 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...
This is what I told myself when I moved into my first home with a garden. Getting back to my mention of Michael Pollan, I realize now, perhaps this hedge manipulated me. As I designed, I set up bamboo edging; when I looked at it I realized the front of...
The prize for the victors was an crown of Laurel leaves.So the answer might be: the Romans didn't call the tree Daphne because they were already calling it Laurel, perhaps before they had even heard the Greek myth.But there is a complication.
Even though these students progressed to the seventh grade, I found a few of them sneaking back into the sixth grade area to check on their flowers. Growing a bit taller is ‘Showstar', reaching 14 to 24 inches tall.
Stored in separate plastic bags, sound specimens will keep in great condition until late winter or early spring. That's a hefty list to choose from, and I like to work with a couple of biennial vegetables every year.
Inspect new plants for lurking weeds like creeping buttercup and check that any bought-in manure or compost is well-rotted and free of weed seeds too. Ground Resistance Resistance is far from futile! Consider covering bare soil with a cover crop or green...
Leafmold mulch contributes to a healthier garden Leafmold (rotted leaves from deciduous trees) is similar to compost, but is less rich in nutrients. It makes a great path surface if replenished annually, but if using it on beds let it rot down first.
This is one of the little quirks you learn from gardening on a slope. Plants and stone always look great together, so it is often a top choice for hillside beds less than 18 inches (45cm) high.
I won't plant my garlic until October, but between now and then I might sow a quick mustard cover crop to suppress weeds, or use the broadfork to aerate the soil deep down, all the while throwing on more compost.
Delicate fruits such as peaches or nectarines need very careful handing to avoid bruising. Squashes need to be cured before storing , a simple process that will keep your ripe fruits in good condition throughout the winter.
Cutting them out sooner rather than later means you can make smaller cuts that are less likely to become infected. Branches infected with silver leaf will have a tell-tale dark stain at the centre.
Gloves will shield your hands from the fiery fruits, so once you're done harvesting you can whip them off and continue safely about your day's work! If you want to make a ristra then cut the chillies with plenty of the attaching stem intact.
Now lay the mulch so it's at least an inch (2cm) thick around your plants. Here are a few ideas to help. Provide shade to help seedlings thrive during a heatwave Add Some Shade Young seedlings, and cool-season crops in general, perform better under the...
The easiest way to grow second-crop spuds is in containers . You can also protect plants against light frosts by wrapping the container in layers of corrugated cardboard or bubble wrap.
Selectively removing young fruits is called thinning. Apples generally produce clusters of between two to six fruits. Additional thinning of tree fruits ensures there's less chance of fruits rubbing together, which can lead to diseases like rot.
It's that time of year again, when wafts – nay, clouds – of whitefly lay siege to summer favorites like tomatoes and cabbage. The whitefly larvae are still alive at this point and it's only when the parasite is almost ready to hatch out as an adult...
Using row covers can keep the chill at bay and extend your harvests into fall 6. So encouraging these productive staples to carry on cropping for longer is the aim of the game. Or why not make your own liquid feed from fast-growing, nutrient-rich plants...
That may sound like a solution, but the problem is it also wipes out the beneficial insects – your own private army – at the same time. It's important to follow the instructions on the label very carefully.
Caterpillars prefer nasturtiums, so they'll be more likely to eat these instead of your cabbages. This avoids unnecessary root disturbance, helping the seedlings to quickly adapt to their new growing positions.
Sowing, planting, weeding, watering, harvesting, deadheading, composting, pest control… and the rest! But as summer moves swiftly along it's absolutely essential to stop, sit down and drink it all in.
Photo courtesy of All-America Selections Award Enter the Dragons – Colorful Chinese Radishes Often called Chinese radishes and introduced to western home gardeners a only a few years ago, ‘Red Dragon' and ‘Pink Dragon' are refinements of the old...
Follow the steps above. 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.
The root word, rotabagge , is Swedish for thick root, which hints at the density of rutabaga roots when compared to turnips. Then store them in plastic bags in the refrigerator, or packed in damp sand or sawdust in a cold basement.
Leave the seed heads to dry out in a warm, well-ventilated place such as a greenhouse. See our video and article How to Prepare and Store Seeds from Your Tomato Plants for more on this.
Oleander is a plant that thrives in warm climates and in bright sun although it can also grow in partial shade. Create a 2 to 4 inch berm around the plants to hold in water.Water plants thoroughly after planting.
They can provide a lovely living fence to mark the borders of your property and offer a natural barrier against wind, snow, noise and nosy neighbors. Glossy privet can reach up to 40 feet tall, while Golden Vicary privet (Ligustrum x vicaryi, USDA zones...
Don't pack the soil tightly.Spread 2 to 3 inches of mulch such as dry, chopped leaves or bark around the shrubs to keep the soil cool and moist, but keep the mulch 4 to 6 inches away from the trunk.
