When to Plant Crops in Fall Fall planting cool season crops only takes a little planning beforehand. To get plants that produce in cool weather, you’ll have to start them in late summer. Look up the average frost date for your area and count backward in time the days until maturity for your plant. (This will be printed on your seed packet. For the best yield, pick seed varieties with a quick time to maturity....
Hops Fertilizer Guide Hops fertilizer requirements include the macronutrients of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. Other trace minerals are necessary for growth as well, such as boron, iron, and manganese. The correct nutrients should be in the soil prior to planting, but they must on occasion be replenished or supplemented during the growing season as the hops utilize the food to grow and produce. Run a soil test on the area where the hops will be growing if you are not going to use standard application rates of fertilizer....
Is Juice Good for Plants? Similar to salt, sugar absorbs water and therefore, can prevent plant roots from taking up appropriate amounts of it as well as valuable nutrients. The result of introducing too much sugar into a plant’s root system can be inhibited plant growth or even death. Most juices, from apple juice to orange juice, have varying sugar contents depending on the brand. While apples do contain sugar, using unsweetened apple juice on plants will have little negative effect on growing plants but probably no benefit either....
If your idea of a garden club involves neatly dressed ladies in fancy hats drinking tea, you’ve been watching too much television. Modern garden clubs unite men and women of all ages who share a common love of flowers, shrubs, and vegetable plants. If the idea sounds intriguing, consider starting a garden club. But, you ask, how do I start a garden club? Read on for all the tips you need to get going....
Weather and Rain Activity Lessons For gardeners, measuring the amount of moisture that falls can help determine what plants will perform well with minimal outside irrigation. It can also inform you of how much moisture to collect if you were to install a rain barrel. A DIY rain gauge is one of the easiest ways to assess rainfall, plus it is a family friendly project with teaching potential for the kids....
When to Start Garden Plans Garden planning in winter (or even fall) is the perfect balm for the dreary season. Of course, there is no wrong time to start planning for the coming spring, but don’t leave it too long or you’ll be rushing. This down time is the perfect time to prepare for what comes next. There isn’t much you can do out in the garden, but indoors you can assess, plan, and purchase....
July Garden Tasks Lawn Will you continue to irrigate the lawn during the hottest, driest part of the summer or will you allow the grass to go dormant? Your decision will impact the lawn care tasks on your July gardening to-do list. Dormant lawns: Discontinue fertilizing this month, but periodically mow to remove weed growth and seed heads. This is a good time to catch those clippings so as not to redistribute weed seeds throughout the lawn....
Native plants have survived for generations without supplemental water, fertilizers, or soil amendments. Many are showy, and provide a natural, pleasing look to the backyard landscape. Gardening With Native Plants of the South Whether you are adding native plants among your cultivated perennials, shrubs and trees, or are planting a wildlife garden or pollinator garden, or even a wildflower meadow, here are the best native plants for the Southern gardens of Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi....
German vegetable gardening also has a different philosophy than that followed by most American gardeners. Read on to learn about growing German vegetables. German Vegetable Gardening The German people have been using a gardening method called Hugelkultur for centuries. Literally meaning “mound culture,” Hugelkultur is a horticultural technique whereby a mound, or raised planting bed, is composed of decaying wood or other compostable plant material. This method has many benefits such as water retention, improvement of soil tilth, an increase of surface volume, and is the ideal method for growing German vegetables, here or in Germany....
Growing Ginger Mint Ginger mint, like all other varieties of mint, is easy to grow and can quickly get out of hand when allowed to grow freely. If you have the space to let your mint plants run, it will kindly oblige. Otherwise, it’s best to contain it in a pot of some kind. To keep growth under control, you can even cut the bottom out of large coffee can and place this in the ground....
You’ll also get fully mature, tiny cabbage heads sooner than almost anything else in your vegetable garden. About Golden Cross Cabbage Variety The Golden Cross mini cabbage is a fun variety. The heads are just 6-7 inches (15-18 cm.) in diameter. The small size makes for easier storage in the refrigerator and also for closer plantings in a vegetable bed or growing cabbage in containers. Golden Cross is an early variety....
About Greigii Tulip Flowers Greigii tulips are a joy to have in a sunny garden. With blooms very large in proportion to the size of the plant, they work well in rock gardens and borders as well as potted arrangements. In full sun, the blooms open wide into cup-shaped flowers. When they are open, they can be more than 5 inches (13 cm.) across. As the sun passes, the petals fold up again for evening....
Growing Streptocarpella Also known as false African violet, streptocarpella plant is a member of the Gerneriaceae family. First time growers most commonly acquire plants as a gift, or as a winter purchase from garden centers. It is easy for gardeners to be drawn to their gorgeous blue flowers and long cascading growth habit. One of the most commonly available cultivars, Streptocarpella ‘Concord Blue,’ is especially prized for its use as an annual in outdoor containers....
Growing Cactus That is Blue Feeling blue? Then try growing blue cacti. The sharp hue of these plants creates drama in the garden. There are many blue cactus types that offer some interesting difference of color combined with diverse forms and brilliant flowers. Why are some cactus blue? The thought is that it is some sort of adaptation the plant has developed. Cactus plants are among the most adaptive plants known and have evolved all sorts of interesting coping mechanisms to survive in harsh environments....
What is Cerinthe? In addition to its other names, Cerinthe is also known as honeywort or wax flower from the Greek ‘keros’ for wax and ‘anthos’ for flower. The plant is an herb related to borage, but the foliage is not as thickly haired. Instead, Cerinthe has thick, greenish gray foliage with softly rounded edges. New leaves are marbled with white, which disappears after the leaves mature. The leaves alternate in whorls up the stem in an attractive pattern....
Can You Grow Holly Indoors? Holly as a houseplant is an intriguing idea, especially around the holidays. The easiest and fastest way to accomplish this is to purchase a potted plant at the garden store. These plants are already used to growing indoors so will be right at home in your house. You may be able to find English holly (Ilex aquifolium), a popular plant in Europe. However, you are more likely to come across native American holly (Ilex opaca)....
Growing Leafy Greens in Containers Growing orach in pots is not too different from the usual methods of growing leafy greens in containers. There is one thing to keep in mind, though – orach mountain spinach gets big. It can reach 4 to 6 feet (1.2-18 m) in height, so keep this in mind when you’re choosing a container. Pick something large and heavy that won’t tip over easily. The plants can also spread to 1....
What is Mesclun? Mesclun greens traditionally contain the small, young leaves of species such as endive, arugula, chervil, and leafy lettuces like baby red leaf. Today the notion of salad mixes has expanded to include many other varieties of greens and herbs. A mesclun mix may include such things as spinach, chard, frisee, mustard, dandelion greens, mizuna, mache, and radicchio among others. The huge variety in greens makes for a very interesting and wide palate pleaser....
What is a Tecomanthe Vine? Tecomanthe petticoat (Tecomanthe venusta) vine is also called New Guinea creeper, forest bell creeper, and New Guinea trumpet vine. The descriptive name of pink petticoat vine refers to the thickly decorated wiry stems that are coated with layers of the hot pink blooms. The plant is a fast growing evergreen vine with waxy leaves and thick flower clusters. It is a tropical plant that cannot withstand temperatures below freezing....
Growing Schefflera as Bonsai If you are looking for a durable houseplant that thrives in low-light conditions, schefflera is worth a look. It’s extremely popular and easy to grow as long as you understand its needs. In addition, dwarf schefflera has lots of traits that make it an ideal bonsai tree. While this species doesn’t have the woody stems and compound leaf structure of other bonsais, its trunks, branching, and root structure all work well in this role....
