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Convert landscape and garden trimmings into valuable compost. Incorporate this soil amendment into garden soil to improve drainage in clay soil and increase water-holding ability in fast draining sandy soils. It also promotes healthy plant growth more resistant to insect and disease problems and keeps plant-based kitchen scraps and garden waste out of landfills. Composting is as simple as placing disease- and insect-free plant debris into a pile and letting it rot. Don’t add meat, dairy, or fat that attracts rodents or w...
Add a bit of cool flavor to your beverages, meals and desserts this summer with homegrown mint. Try using peppermint leaves in fruit cocktails and ice cream. Add spearmint to your tea or use the leaves to season lamb and jelly. Or try chocolate mint for a unique, sweet and refreshing flavor in desserts and drinks. Mint is easy to grow and suited to container gardens. In fact, growing it in a pot will help keep this vigorous herb contained. Or sink a container of mint in the garden or plant where surrounding walks and walls...
Cancer prevention starts on your dinner plate; actually, it starts in the garden. Growing your own nutrient-rich cancer fighting vegetables allows you to grow pesticide-free vegetables, harvest them at their peak, and use them right away, ensuring the highest nutrient value and best flavor. Be sure to include some broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, kale, and turnip greens. These cruciferous vegetables release cancer fighting substances that help fend off lung, breast, liver, colon, and prostate cancer. Three...
Add productive garden space and raise your planting bed with straw bale gardening. This technique allows you to create a raised bed garden on the patio, lawn, or poor compacted soil. Straw bale gardening has been around for centuries, but thanks to Joel Karsten's book "Straw Bale Gardens" it has gained new popularity. All you need are a few straw bales, fertilizer, a bit of compost and time to condition, plant and water your garden. Purchase straw bales made from alfalfa,...
Planning a few long weekends or a vacation may have you rethinking your garden plans. Don't let time away from home stop you from growing flowers and vegetables in containers. Irrigation systems with timers and self-watering pots are options to make container gardening and vacation care easier. You may, however, just be looking for ways to adapt your existing container gardening care while on vacation. Find a plant sitter and take time to provide needed plant care...
Add a bit of fiber to your garden and diet. Consider growing edamame (edible soybeans) in this year’s garden. Soybeans help promote overall health reducing the risk of high cholesterol, diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure. Plus, the high fiber in soy helps fight colon and some other cancers. Edamame is an ancient Asian vegetable and is often eaten right from the pod like peanuts. Edible soybeans are also used for making tofu, tempeh, soy nut snacks and more. In addition to their high fiber content, soybean’s high...
Increase your growing success by giving your transplants a good start with a few simple planting techniques. Preparing them for the transition outdoors and planting properly will help you grow your best garden yet. Transplants started indoors from seed or purchased at a local garden center or greenhouse need time to prepare for their outdoor home. Gradually toughen them up with a procedure called hardening off. This process helps them adjust to the outdoor growing conditions,...
Add a cool refreshing twist to your meals, beverages, appetizers, and snacks with cucumbers. These popular vegetables are grown worldwide, adding anti-inflammatory vitamin K, vitamins C, B-5 and more to your meals. Take it a step further by using your own fresh-from-the-garden cucumbers. Grow cucumbers sprawled on the ground or in a container on your patio, balcony or deck. Save space and train them up a decorative support. They make great vertical accents in containers as...
You created your wish list, ordered some or all of the seeds you will need, and they are beginning to arrive. Now, make the most of your investment with a bit of planning. Starting seeds at the proper time, indoors or directly in the garden, ensures a good start to the growing season. Check the back of the seed packet for planting times and directions. Consult your local Extension Service's website for more details on the best time to plant in your area. Organize your seeds...
Treat that someone special in your life to a floral Valentine. You will have them smiling within seconds and feeling happier throughout the week ahead. Ensure your gift of cut flowers will look its best and provide many days of enjoyment with proper selection and care. You will also enjoy a bit of floral relief when taking time to select the freshest flowers possible. A whiff of the water will let you know if the flowers are fresh and have been properly tended. Look for upright and perky flowers with lots of firm buds that...
A sticky substance on plant leaves, plant stands, and the floor are often the first clue alerting gardeners to a problem. If a closer look reveals bumps on the upper and lower surface of leaves and stems, it means scale insects have moved in to dine on your houseplants. Severe infestations can cause leaf yellowing, stunting and dieback of the plant. If you have battled these insects, you know they can be challenging to control. Arm yourself with an understanding of their...
Ringing in the New Year is filled with resolutions that usually involve dieting and exercise. Gardening is a great way to help accomplish those two resolutions, while also improving your mood, reducing blood pressure, managing anger, maintaining flexibility and much more. So, gather anyone that shares in your gardening efforts and landscape projects. Grab a calendar and make some gardening plans for the year ahead. Consider including a monthly project that you all can share and one that moves you closer to your long-term gard...
Dress up your holiday meals with a centerpiece crafted from greens, colorful stems and seed heads collected from your garden. Or purchase fresh materials you need from your favorite garden center or florist. Most gardeners spend some time gathering a few blossoms and creating a bouquet or arrangement for their summer gatherings. Don't let winter stop you from crafting a festive centerpiece from materials collected from your gardens this time of year. Start by gathering some...
All your hard work is paying off with a bountiful harvest. Fresh produce is filling your garden, countertops, and refrigerator while the garden keeps producing more. Preserve some of your harvest to enjoy throughout the winter with some tried-and-true or updated variation of food preservation techniques. Hanging bundles of herbs to dry is a long-time practice that works. Harvest herbs in the morning just after the dew has dried off the leaves. Rinse, allow them to dry, and...
Short or tall, big or small, ornamental alliums are a treat for flower gardeners and for butterflies, bees and other pollinators. Plant the bulbs in fall and enjoy months of colorful spring and summer blooms – this year, and for years to come. Just like their relatives, onions and chives, ornamental alliums are easy to grow and trouble free. Pest, diseases and even deer don’t bother them. Most types are reliably perennial and winter hardy in zones three to eight. Alliums prefe...
Nothing beats the flavor of fresh-from-the-garden tomatoes and when they're left on the plant five to eight days after the fruit are fully colored, the flavor only gets better. Check plants regularly and keep harvesting, so the plants continue to produce throughout the fall. This also reduces problems with insects and disease attacking overripe or rotting fruit. Store the mature red tomatoes in cool, 45- to 50-degree, conditions with high humidity and they'll last about 7 to...
End the growing season with an extra burst of color and nutrition with a few fall containers. A pot of mums or asters can add color to your front steps and a container filled with kale and greens adds fresh flavor to your fall meals. But don’t stop there. Create attractive potted gardens by combining asters, mums, grasses, cool weather edibles and other fall beauties. Spruce up an existing container by replacing weather worn annuals with fresh fall favorites. Pansies, sweet a...
You have waited all season for that first red ripe tomato only to discover less-than-perfect fruit. But don’t worry, you can still have a great harvest this year while improving things for next season. Blossom end rot is a common problem. It’s due to a calcium deficiency often caused by fluctuations in soil moisture, often seen on the first set of fruit and those grown in containers. Adjust your watering and mulch the soil to help keep it consistently moist. Have your soi...
Don’t let fall or potentially frosty temperatures stop you from enjoying garden-fresh produce. Extend the nutritional value and homegrown flavor into your fall and early winter meals with the help of short season crops and season extending strategies. Lettuce, spinach, radishes, turnips, and beets are quick to mature from seed to harvest. Plus, the cooler temperatures enhance their flavor. Simply count the number of frost-free days left in your growing season and compare it wi...
It’s time to get outside and enjoy summer BBQs, gardening, hikes and much more. Don’t let mosquitoes keep you inside; instead enlist these chemical-free strategies to manage these pests in your landscape. Start by eliminating the mosquitoes’ breeding grounds. Drain the water out of buckets, old tires and clogged gutters and downspouts that hold water needed for mosquitoes to reproduce. Check kids’ toys, tarps and pool covers that also retain water. Drain the water and store t...
A bit of grooming and care will keep your flower gardens looking their best throughout the hot summer months and into fall. Remove the flower stems of salvias, veronicas and similar flowers as the blooms begin to fade. Use a pruner or sharp garden scissors and cut just above the first set of leaves or above the side shoots where new flower buds are forming. Cut back flopping perennials like Walker’s Low catmint, veronica and Salvia that have finished their second flush of f...
You’ve grabbed your water bottle, sunscreen and hat for a hike in the park or some gardening. Add a bit of tick protection to your must-have items when you head out the door for an adventure, to garden or play. Continue enjoying the outdoors by enlisting a variety of strategies to limit your risk of exposure to ticks and the disease pathogens they transmit. Here are just a few of the ways to increase your safety and enjoyment. Wear light colored clothing to more easily spot the tick before it moves onto your skin. Wear l...
Proper watering is key to gardening success, but untangling and dragging heavy hoses across the yard, smashing delicate flowers and young vegetable plants along the way is a common occurrence in many yards. If this describes your escapades when watering garden beds and planters, it may be time to look for some time-saving solutions that reduce the hassle of hand watering. Protect edging plants, especially those at the corner of the bed with hose guides. You can make your own from colorful wine bottles inverted over a section...
Dahlias have been a fixture in summer flower gardens for generations. But it may be time to update your idea of dahlias. With hundreds of varieties to choose from in a fabulous array of colors, shapes and flower sizes, it is no surprise the National Garden Bureau has declared 2019 the “Year of the Dahlia.” Join the celebration and brighten your garden with dahlias this year. Not only are dahlias beautiful, but they’re also easy to grow. Just plant the tuberous roots in a sun...
Impress your guests with a garden, container and dinner table filled with tasty and colorful winning tomato varieties. Small-fruited varieties are perfect for salads and snacking and those with larger fruit ideal for slicing, canning and sauces. These winning tomatoes were tested nationally by All-America Selections (AAS), a non-profit plant trialing organization (all-americaselections.org). Volunteer judges evaluated the plants for flavor, improved performance, growth habit,...
