How to Make a Lasagna Box Garden How to make a lasagna garden? Think of the delicious dish that comes from your oven. First, you need a pan. For your lasagna box garden, you can build a simple raised bed right on the unworked ground. Once your box is in place, your first layer will be made from wet newspaper laid flat six to ten layers thick. Make sure you overlap the edges by at least 6 inches (15 cm....
Growing Thyme Seeds The thyme plant can be grown from seed, but frequently people choose to avoid growing thyme seeds. Thyme seeds are difficult to germinate and can take a long time to sprout. If you would like to grow thyme from seeds, follow these steps for growing thyme seeds: Planting Thyme from Divisions Normally, a thyme plant is grown from a division. Thyme is easy to divide. In the spring or fall, find a mature thyme plant....
Fir Christmas Trees The Douglas and Frasier are popular Christmas tree varieties in the fir family. The Frasier is usually the most expensive tree available because of its relative rarity and its natural shape. If you are looking for the best type of Christmas tree that does not need shaping, springing for the Frasier fir would be your best option. The Douglas fir is one of the best all-around Christmas tree varieties....
Animals That Damage Pepper Plants As home gardeners, we put a lot of time, effort and money into growing veggies for the dinner table. Yet, when animal pests enter our gardens, all of our hard work can disappear overnight. But before we can deter animals from the garden, we first have to identify the culprits. Do deer eat pepper plants? As members of the nightshade family, peppers are not one of the preferred foods of deer....
Lemon Eucalyptus Information This plant is an attractive Australian native. It has sword-shaped, gray-green leaves and tiny, white flowers. The lemon eucalyptus plant, also known as lemon-scented gum, has a more pungent smell than other citrusy herbs, like lemon verbena, lemon balm, and lemon thyme. If you touch a leaf, the air is infused with the super-strong scent of lemon. In fact, if you’ve ever burned a citronella candle, don’t think it is scented with real lemon fragrance....
Low Chill Apple Trees Most apple trees require a certain number of “chill units.” These are the cumulative hours that winter temperatures drop to 32 to 45 degrees F. (0-7 C.) during the winter. Since U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zone 9 has relatively mild winters, only those apple trees requiring a lesser number of chill units can thrive there. Remember that a hardiness zone is based on the lowest annual temperatures in a region....
When to Harvest Lychee Fruit Unlike many fruits, lychees do not continue to ripen after they’re picked, which means it’s important to time your harvest as well as possible. It can be hard to tell from sight, but ripe lychees are slightly more swollen, causing the bumps on the skin to spread out and take on an overall flatter appearance. A more trusted method of testing for ripeness is the taste test....
Madagascar palms are engaging looking plants that will grow from 4 to 6 feet (1 to 2 m.) indoors and up to 15 feet (4.5 m.) outdoors. A long, spindly trunk is covered with exceptionally thick spines and leaves form at the top of the trunk. This plant very rarely, if ever, develops branches. Aromatic yellow, pink, or red flowers develop in the winter. Madagascar palm plants are an excellent addition to any sun-filled room....
Reasons for Magnolia Trees with Yellowing Leaves If you see yellow magnolia leaves on the tree in your backyard, don’t panic. It might not be very serious. In fact, it might be natural. Magnolias shed their old leaves all year – it’s part of their growth cycle, and the older magnolia leaves turn yellow and fall to the ground. Look carefully to determine whether new leaves are growing in to replace those yellow magnolia leaves....
Handmade Wrapping Paper with Seeds This is a fun DIY wrapping paper project that is also sustainable and useful. The wrapping paper itself is a gift that keeps giving. Embedded with seeds, the recipient of the gift can keep the paper and plant it outside in spring. You’ll need: Tissue paperSeeds (wildflowers make a good choice)Water in a spray bottleCornstarch glue (a biodegradable mixture of 3/4 cup water, 1/4 cup cornstarch, 2 tablespoons of corn syrup, and a splash of white vinegar)...
Benefits of Growing Cucumbers on a Fence Cucumbers naturally want to climb, but, often in the home garden, we don’t provide any support and they sprawl on the ground. One of the greatest advantages of cucumber fences is the fact that they save a significant amount of space in the garden by allowing the cucumbers to follow their climbing nature. When you grow cucumbers on a fence, you not only save space, but create a healthier environment for the cucumbers to grow....
Malanga Plant Info Malanga is very similar to taro and eddo, and can be easily confused with them. In fact, in some areas malanga root is called eddo, as well as yautia, cocoyam, coco, tannia, sato-imo, and Japanese potato. The plant is grown for its tubers, belembe or calalous, which are used in a variety of dishes. What is a Malanga Root? In North America, malanga is more commonly referred to as “elephant ear” and is generally grown as an ornamental....
What are Hunnemannia Poppies? Gardeners not familiar with the Mexican tulip poppy may be wondering, “What are Hunnemannia poppies?”. They are members of the Papavercae family, as are other poppies. Flowers on the 1 to 2 foot (0.5 m.) plant are shaped like ruffle-edged tulip flowers and exhibit the delicate characteristics of the typical poppy flower. Mexican tulip poppy info indicates they are tender perennials in the warmest USDA Zones and grow as annuals in areas with cold winters....
Propagating money trees isn’t difficult if you follow a few guidelines. If you are interested in learning about money tree propagation, read on. About Money Tree Reproduction Money trees get their catchy nickname from a feng shui belief that the tree is lucky as well as a legend that cultivating the plant brings great fortune. The young trees have flexible trunks that are often braided together to “lock in” the financial luck....
Controlling Nasturtium Plants While not too common, if spreading nasturtiums are smothering other flowers in your beds, you can remove and dispose of them or replant into other areas. Planting into a container is a good control measure. That way, you can still enjoy the beautiful blooms. How to Stop Nasturtium Spread If you truly want to get rid of all the nasturtiums in your landscape, you can dig them up....
What is Naturalizing? Naturalizing is creating an area in the landscape where flowers are planted randomly. Over the years the bulbs in an undisturbed area increase in numbers to form masses of spectacular spring flowers. In the right location, naturalizing flowers is a great way to create an interesting landscape with less time and at a lower cost than building flower borders. Best of all, bulb naturalizing in landscapes is easy....
Northwest Lawn Options Here are some suggestions for alternative lawns in the Pacific Northwest you might like to try: Clover is no longer considered a weed and works beautifully for lawns in the Pacific Northwest. It is inexpensive, requires very little water, and no fertilizer. Since it takes nitrogen from the air, clover is also good for the soil. Clover attracts beneficial pollinators, but if bees are a problem, consider microclovers, extremely tough little plants that have smaller leaves and no flowers....
You’re not the only one making a list this month either, Santa is too! Be extra good and you might receive those gardening tools on your wish list. December Tasks for the Central States Lawn There are few lawncare tasks on the central states this month. Topping the list is protecting the turfgrass from damage. Weather permitting, cut the grass one last time to prevent snow mold.If possible, avoid walking on frost covered or frozen lawns....
Oleander Caterpillar Life Cycle In the adult stage, oleander plant caterpillars are impossible to miss, with iridescent, bluish green body and wings with bright reddish orange at the tip of the abdomen. The wings, body, antennae, and legs are marked with small, white dots. The adult oleander wasp moth is also known as the polka-dot wasp because of its marking and wasp-like shape. The female oleander caterpillar moth lives only about five days, which is plenty of time to lay clusters of creamy white or yellow eggs on the undersides of tender leaves....
During pitcher plant dormancy, some exposure to chilly temperatures is necessary but most are not hardy below USDA zone 7. Over-wintering pitcher plants in colder zones will require moving the plants or providing them with protection from the cold weather. A Word About Pitcher Plants Pitcher plants are bog plants and are often grown as part of a water garden or at the edge of a water feature. The genus Sarracenia supports 15 different varieties scattered across North America....
