Use a sharp hoe to skim the surface and dislodge or slice the seedlings. Regularly sharpen your hoe so that the blade slices through weeds like a knife. Carefully dig out the resurgents with a trowel or fork, taking care to remove all of the roots.
Wood-derived Mulches Wood products such as sawdust, wood chips, bark chips and pine needles (pine straw) have a bad reputation. Using them to mulch around established fruit trees and bushes or perennial vegetables is usually fine however.
Concrete blocks are less costly, though heavy to handle. An ideal design is comprised of beds sized to fit the hillside in ways that make them easy to plant and maintain. A terraced vegetable garden stabilized by raw wood follows similar processes, only...
Cool-season cover crops are a beautiful and bioactive way to increase your soil's organic matter content during the off season, and you won't need a tractor to chop down the plants when the time comes.
Some plants produce many tens of fruits over the growing season, so keeping on top of fruit removal may prove to be a daily task. Fellow blogger Barbara Pleasant recommends gathering the first fruits of the season before they are mature, at the ‘breaker'...
So encouraging these productive staples to carry on cropping for longer is the aim of the game. None of these techniques are exactly rocket science, but by applying each you'll almost certainly be able to eke out more from your fruiting and pod-producing...
Naturally you don't want pests to destroy the crops that you've worked so hard to grow, but reaching for the bug spray is not a good option, and it's ultimately self-defeating. And don't forget to report any pests you see at BigBugHunt.com .
Additional rows of spring or summer cabbage should be set around the same distance apart, while fall and winter types need a little more space between rows – about two feet (60cm) is ideal.
I am no fan of the excessive glare from poorly placed spotlights or security lights. Consider the look and feel of the bench, which will become a feature in its own right. Wind chimes give an immediate impact but consider the neighbors; wood or bamboo...
Notes Obtain local expertise before choosing which fruits to grow. Water thoroughly and mulch after planting new fruits. Our Garden Planner can produce a personalized calendar of when to sow, plant and harvest for your area.
Watermelon radishes provide a unique color in the kitchen that's welcome in salads, sandwiches and sushi Thin slices of watermelon radish turn any salad into a rainbow, or you can pickle them to add color and crunch to sandwiches.
No matter how meticulous you are with planning crop timings, there's always going to be a hardcore of homegrown hooligans that arrive en masse, intimidating gardeners with more fresh produce than can be coped with! Common culprits include the likes of...
The same pests that bother other brassicas can affect rutabagas, but they usually don't. I like to sidestep hot summer sun by starting the seedlings indoors and setting them out when it's cloudy, but the seeds are such willing germinators that they also...
Saving seed from F1 hybrids won't work either, which because they are created from two separate parent varieties simply won't come true to type. The flowers are beautiful though, and provide welcome food for local bees and other pollinators.
If you don't have a dehydrator you can simply dry your fruits by threading them onto lengths of fishing line or cotton thread, spacing them out one by one like miniature Christmas stockings.
This means you can water carefully and precisely, enjoying the convenience of a hose – without wasting a drop! Water from the Bottom Watering pots from the bottom, rather than the top, can save a lot of time – and water – in hot weather.
Plant some seed potatoes in late summer and you could be enjoying a bonanza of earthy nuggets from late autumn right through to Christmas. Plants Related to this Article Potatoes (Early) Grow Guide Potatoes (Maincrop) Grow Guide Bugs, Beneficial Insects...
Nectarines should be thinned once to six inches (15cm) apart. Thinning Other Fruit Trees Pears need less thinning than apples but will still benefit from having young fruits thinned out to give consistent harvests.
The trouble with homemade sprays is that their effectiveness varies dramatically, and they aren't always as harmless as they seem, potentially knocking back whitefly predators too.
Harvesting Harvest when the fruit is soft and can be pulled easily from the tree. Ripe apricots fall to the ground. Mulching, watering, feeding, weeding and hard pruning can all help.
Semi-dwarf and standard pears make excellent landscape trees in large yards. Frost tolerant Yes, but it is important to choose varieties known to grow well in your area to reduce risk of losing blooms to spring freezes.
Semi-dwarf and standard pears make excellent landscape trees in large yards. Frost tolerant Yes, but it is important to choose varieties known to grow well in your area to reduce risk of losing blooms to spring freezes.
Plum curculios feed on buds, flowers and unripe fruits. Spacing Single Plants: 11' 5" (3.50m) each way (minimum) Rows: 11' 5" (3.50m) with 11' 5" (3.50m) row gap (minimum) Sow and Plant Prepare a large hole by breaking up the soil and adding plenty of...
Plum curculios feed on buds, flowers and unripe fruits. Spacing Single Plants: 16' 4" (5.00m) each way (minimum) Rows: 16' 4" (5.00m) with 16' 4" (5.00m) row gap (minimum) Sow and Plant Prepare a large hole by breaking up the soil and adding plenty of...
Harvesting Harvest when the fruit is soft and can be pulled easily from the tree. Ripe apricots fall to the ground. Mulching, watering, feeding, weeding and hard pruning can all help.
Alternatively, plant first thing in spring, or grow from seed and set out seedlings in early spring. Crop Rotation Group Allium (Onion family) ● Soil Fertile, well drained soil with compost dug in.
